Clarion
by alphatrash
Summary: Simone Kadam was never good at making the right decisions, and for better or worse, neither was he. Ultron/OC(rating subject to change.)
1. Honey, I'm Home

**I've never written like this before but I love Ultron so here we are lmao.  
**

 **Edit: rewrote the chapter.**

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Simone doubted the day could get any worse. She woke up, stepped on her retainer, spilled cereal on her only rug, couldn't find a scarf, and made the horrible decision to walk into town for groceries. Normally she didn't mind it, a forty minute walk would normally be relaxing in the right weather. To bad it was pelting moth sized snowflakes in an inescapable flurry of white. Now she was stuck clutching the bags that broke a mile back.

The woman just wanted to go home and peel the frozen clothes off her body like a banana.

Simone cursed, she forgot bananas… again.

Just her luck, she groaned, silently praying she'd be hospitalized for malnutrition and could be taken away from the icy hell she inhabited. The thought of the housing bill suddenly made the notion much less appealing than the blistering snow.

Cursing every molecule of her body for believing the storm would've let up for the three hours she needed, the woman bit her splitting lip and trudged forward. The weather app was definitely getting deleted off her phone.

Normally, she didn't mind not having a car. Only owning a rusty bike she haggled out of a flea market that was great for spring and summer. It was even decked out with a flashlight and basket she tapped to the handlebars.

Right now, however, she wanted to pummel herself into the dirt,or snow, either worked. Three years in the middle of Snow-where, Maine and still thought weather didn't apply to her. Snow-where... She'd have to remember that one.

'If I get home alive', she thought bitterly, shivering and curling tighter around the perishables.

A mile the down the barely plowed street and her tiny building could be made out against the trees. Relief flooded though her at the promise of warmth and as soon as she reached the frozen driveway she speed-shuffled her across the concrete.

She nearly tripped on the last step of the patio and clung desperately to her groceries when they tried to spray across her welcome mat. Simone fiddled with the keys, her mitten hands not able to grab the metal bit securely. The woman sighed and pulled it off her hand before ramming the tiny rod in the key hole. She braced against the doorknob and threw her body weight against it, throwing in a spray of snow along with her.

Staring at the mess of melting liquid, she debated cleaning up in case it damaged the wood floors. Not able to motivate herself further, she kicked the door closed and used her feet to pry off her boots. Dumping the groceries on on the marble counters she let out a happy sigh when she took of the sopping coat and threw it on the couch. She'd take a bath after the food was put away, maybe even use a bath bomb and burn incense if the mood struck.

Putting away her perishables in the open fridge the woman idly humming. She had needed to stop waiting till the last minute before going to the store, it was just hard getting the drive to walk all the way into town unless she was starving. It would make unpacking so much easier, though.

She jerked still when a loud bang came from the other side of the house. Straining her ears she tried to catch another disturbance, hoping her hearing aids just flared up. Another crash, "Oh, God."

Definitely not the hearing aids.

Simone set the broccoli down and decided to go into action, not wait until her maybe-guest found her. Should she call the cops first? No, it'd take too long for them to get there. She'd be dead and they'd be useless. She had do something, act and then call the authorities. Offensive over defensive, right? That was supposed to be the best stance.

Sliding across the floor and back to the front of house, she reached into the umbrella bin and grabbed her bat. It was aluminum, light, and the paint was chipped from the only season of softball she ever played. It was perfect.

She grimaced and steeled her nerves before edging towards the office. The door was wide open, she never left it that way, someone was definitely inside. Apprehension built in Simone's gut, she wasn't a kickboxing champion, she'd only participated in three fights back in high school. One was from trying out for the wrestling team, she didn't make the cut, but she did break her nose.

"I know you're out there."

The bat almost dropped from her hands. 'fuck, fuck, _fuck_ , fuck me', Simone's brain screamed, scrambling back until her back was pressed against the wall. Fear churned in her stomach, heart pounding against her chest. She felt light headed, her breathing was coming in shallow, short breathes that got quicker with every heavy step the intruder took.

'Just hit 'em when his head sticks out,' the woman encouraged herself, 'Crack it down… just like a piñata.' A bloody, human piñata.

And then she saw it.

Sparking with fritzing wires and mangled iron limbs peppered in scorch marks and bullet holes, was a robot. One of the goddamn robots that tried to destroy, well...everything, two weeks ago. It clutched its nub of a wrist towards the blasted chassis, and hunched, leaning heavily to the right while dragging a dunce leg behind it. She jerked the bat up defensively when it raised its good hand towards her, "Put it down and le-"

"SHIT!"

THWACK.

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 **Kind of a teaser? prologue? intro? the other chapters will b longer tho.**

 **Thank u for reading! I kind of know where the story is going but if there's anything someone wants 2 see just suggest it! I need all the practice i can get.**

 **please review!**


	2. Hello! I am Death, Destroyer of Worlds

**chapter 2! more Ultron less groceries.**

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The bat cracked against the robots skull and it didn't even flinch.

Simone froze. She'd seen those things level 300lb men to their asses. Then again, it wasn't a 300lb man, it was a death harbinger robot that tried to destroy the planet. She suddenly remembered how outmatched she was, watching the machine readjust it's head with jerky movements, "Now if you're done-"

She screamed, chucked the 'weapon' at it, and ran for the kitchen, knife, knife, get a knife, chanting in her head as she scrambled to get footing on the wood floors. Not that she didn't try valiantly, but her socked feet kept going when the rest of her body started to turn, throwing the woman against the floor with a solid 'THUD'. Pain seared up her hip at he fall, but she forced herself up again, steeling a glance at the robot hobbling towards her.

"Now wait a minute!" It called, raising its nub, "Wait ..!"

Her eyes bugged out of her head, this should not be happening, a freaky death-machine should not be in her substandard working class house, talking to her. She hurled over the marble counter, and wrenched a knife off the magnet holder. She held it in front of herself, like a miniature Excalibur trained on the robot as it approached her. This wasn't much better, she realized, the bat may have done nothing but at least it kept her farther away, and what was a 5 pack knife from Walgreen's against reinforced steel? Somewhere along the lines of hitting a tree with a pool noodle she figured, A.K.A., totally ineffective… probably.

"As impressive as that is," It said, gesturing to the five inch blade, "I'm not here to hurt you! that's the opposite of what I want to do, really."

"That doesn't mean you won't," She jabbed, shifting her weight.

"That's fair."

She forced out an exasperated 'ha' as her brow pressed upwards with worry. Simone looked around the kitchen quickly, trying to find an opening to escape. None, she admitted ruefully, acknowledging that the machine would probably grab her before she'd get 3 feet. If she got to the sink behind her, she might be able to spray it with water, make it short out or… something. She decided on something.

"But that doesn't mean I can't see an opportunity," It offered.

"You're in the wrong house," She raised her throwing arm.

"Don-"

The knife hit right in between between its 'eyes', and she would've been proud of herself, if it hadn't been with the handle.

"Are you done yet?"

"Yes," She grunted, turning around and wrenching her pan wrack off the ceiling, hurling the kitchenware. Relief flooded through her as the robot did what she wanted, reaching up to shield itself, so she charged. All 135 pounds of herself against a crippled robot, and she won. Sort of.

Her shoulders colliding with the steal plates sent sour pain in her bones as she tumbled over it. She pulled herself forward and up as fast as she could, trying to distance herself from the robot. As she flailed for the other room she felt her stomach drop when a hot mental hand clenched around her ankle.

Simone imagined all the gross veins and arteries folding over under her skin as the hand tightened it's grip. Pain seared through her leg as adrenaline pumped through her body. She watched a documentary on anacondas once, she was five, it killed a zebra by crushing its lungs. She didn't want to be a zebra.

While groping for the counter's edge, the robot gave the limb a solid yank, pulling her hip farther out of it's joint that she thought was healthy, and sent her ground, watching it close in before the side of her head cracked against the paneling. Hard.

Pain. She gasped her head falling back as the world spun. Her hands snaked up to clutch her throbbing brain, fingers woven tightly between her hair. The corners of her vision was black, dark fireworks erupting where ever she looked. Simone became vaguely aware her hearing aids had fallen out when the her palms dug against empty ears. She tried rolling over, bad idea. The nausea hit again, the sensation of her brain hurling through space when the rest stayed still.

She felt the robot shift, barely processing it save for the pain as it dragged the woman across the floor. Grunting over the pots and pans she was hauled over, she kept digging her palms into her head, praying to relieve some of the throbbing. She thought about death, or, it crossed her mind. Holding on to thoughts hurt, even though it became easier to father into the house they went. This wasn't how she wanted to die, not at the cusp at round 2. in the robot apocalypse, she had to much shit to do.

The fog cleared slightly from her head, ready to twist upwards and try to grab a loose wire and _tear_. She never got the chance. The robot threw her forward and snatched her neck instead, hauling the woman up and slamming her into the wall. What came out of Simone's mouth was a pitiful mix of scream, whimper, and gasp, letting her head roll to the side, pain bubbling across her neck and head.

"mrry ba ath oo, err annig"

Simone shut her eyes, she couldn't make out the words, not without the hearing aids, which where probably broken. The robot shook her when there was a response, followed by more muffled sentences. So she wasn't going to get killed for throwing household items at it, but because she couldn't hear the killing machine in her house. She preferred the other way, it was more heroic.

She sucked in a breath and gritted her teeth,"I can't hear you!"

The woman realized she probably yelled that, but she didn't care, the shaking stopped. It was a small victory though, as it let go of her neck so quickly she collapsed to the ground gasping, sweat collecting on her skin. It couldn't wait to drop her, like she was dirty, like it was above her.

She felt the heavy, dragging footfalls walk away and then back, vibrating though the floor. It stopped infant of her, dropping the small pieces on her lap. The left was busted, having split along the seam holding two plastic halves together, wires spilling out. But Simone'd rather it be the hearing aid than her skull, and adjusted the right one as best she could.

Her eyes looked up, locking with the glowing red slits of the robot as it stared down at her. She swallowed, feeling the bile at the tip of her tongue, and pretended that was fear instead. The shaking said it didn't work.

"Do you want to try this again or are you going to throw something else?" It asked.

She noticed a small dent on its skull where the bat hit earlier, and hid the grin tugging at her lips, "Who are you"

The robot sagged its shoulders dramatically and rolled its head with a huff in a gesture that came across as something akin to exasperation, "Are you going to answer any of my questions?"

She starred at it, refusing to give the robot any form of satisfaction.

It sighed again,"You're fun at parties, aren't you?"

Simone was great at parties, she was drunk at them; but hell if she wasn't hilarious, and hell if she'd tell the mechanical asshole that. She stayed silent. It must have accepted it wouldn't get an answer out of her and ran its hand over the scorched faceplate she was _really_ starting to resent.

"Ultron."

No one said anything for two arduous minutes before she opened her mouth, "I'm Simone A-"

Wait.

"-Fuck."

"That's a lovely name," it, or _he_ , falsely complimented.

Slack jawed and in wet clothes on the floor, she was standing at the feet of the A.I who'd tried dropping a city on the Earth. Mouth open, unblinking, she tried coming to terms that she threw a kettle at a robotic psychopath. He killed people in the last two weeks, she killed a cat 17 years ago. Simone was out of her depth.

"What do you want?," she whispered.

His head tilted to the side curiously, like a bird,"To save the world."

"To destroy it," she corrected weakly, continuing before he could say she was wrong, "but why are you _here_."

Her eyes searched the blank face, it was full of contrasting angles, smooth and sharp, "Don't you have people to kill?"

"Well, I'm kind of bent out of shape right now," he gestured to the battered body in front of her.

Simone almost grinned at the joke, almost, if he wasn't a rogue A.I and she wasn't scared shitless, "I thought the camera just adds ten pounds."

She had a feeling he would've laughed if the circumstances were different too. But they weren't, so Ultron let out a subtle 'ha' she strained to catch, focusing extra encase he said anything and her aid missed it, and yanked her up by the hair. She screamed at the sudden pain, her head spinning all over again when the crash-induced migraine went from manage able to 'please end me now'.

The A.I dragged her kicking body down the hallway and threw her on the couch… Next to her phone. Simone forced her to make a scene of falling on the furniture by groaning and rolling over to the jacket. She laid face down on the coat, her arms tucked under her, using her hands to tugged the pockets closer to her.

"I wasn't that rough," the A.I complained, watching her while sitting down in a lounge chair parallel to the couch.

Shoving her hand in the pocket she plucked out the phone and pretended to rock back and forth in pain, throwing in a few pained grunts for effect as she worked her hands down to her leggings. Tucking the device in the waist band, she rolled over to Ultron as slowly as possible, "Next time you can be on the receiving end."

"Hopefully, there won't be a next time."

She agreed with that one. At this rate Simone'd be nothing more than a severed head in a few hours,"So what do you want… not long term, I mean."

He leaned back into the chair, lounging casually like he was right at home, "The Internet."

"Starbucks has free WiFi, go there," she blurted.

"I don't drink coffee."

"really?" she gasped, mock surprised, "you don't seem like a tea guy."

He laughed, Simone didn't know if she should be proud of that, not many people could say they made the worlds first artificial intelligence laugh. The woman chalked it down as a positive thing when she released she didn't fully make out what he said, "Sorry, I missed that."

He nodded, almost understandingly, if she thought he was capable of it, "Human defect, I forgot, my apologies."

She takes that back, he wasn't even vaguely understanding, he was an asshole, "Rude."

The robot only shrugged, holding resting his chin on his hand. He managed to put her off more and more every second.

"As I was saying, I need to reconnect with the internet," what, so he was a super advanced A.I, harbinger of destruction, and he didn't have WiFi? her outdated iPhone had LTE!

He must've sensed her confused because he started explaining his… 'situation'. That some half-human/half-robot he may of accidentally helped create blocked him off, Vision, she thinks his name was. Guessing by how much disdain Ultron held when he said the name, she'd like him. He explained that her 'calamity of a home' was the first one on the edge of town he found, and broke into, but even with her computer, and plugging himself into the router, he couldn't reconnect. She briefly wondered if she forgot to pay the bills, and that's why he failed. She didn't say anything.

He looked around her house, taking in the paintings on her walls(she noticed her favorite, a small painting done by her cousin in Delhi was face down on the ground), the tapestries, and photos, "what a nice family."

Her eyes snapped to him, "Don't."

Ultron 'hmmed' appreciatively,"Then let me stay. Your basement and garage will be..," He tilted his head to the side again, trying to find that right word,"Adequate! That's it, adequate."

She sighed, running her fingers through her hair again. Simone couldn't believe the shithole she was in now, "Thanks, I'm flattered-"

Wait. How did he…He'd sifted through her entire house, probably to see if she was home.

"-you didn't go through my underwear drawer too, did you?"

He laughed again before answering with an invisible smirk,"I like the red bra, all the thongs seem… excessive, though."

"That's fair," she mocked.

He raised his hand/nub combo in defeat and got to his feet. She watched his every move, it was all jerking, hard, it looked painful, and she hoped it was. Simone didn't forget the people he killed and the city he leveled in the process. He deserved every discomfort he inflicted on himself. Ultron started walking by her before muttering something unintelligible.

"What?"

"Your phone." He repeated, starring at her over his shoulder.

Fuck. She though she'd been clever about it,"what if someone calls me? They might get worried."

"Your life, your mess," He said helpfully.

Simone groaned, and pulled the phone out of her leggings, slapping it in his hand resentfully, wincing as her head flared up again.

"careful, you might break something," He chided, crushing the phone then looking at his hand in a way that translated as shocked, "Oops."

The woman starred at the robot sauntering out the door, sprinkling 200 dollars worth of Apple phone on the floor as he went. Leaving a shocked and wholly upset Simone in his wake. Simone hardly used to phrase hate for anything, she would count the number of people on that list with a single hand, but Ultron was definitely about to join them.

"Oh..!" He started in the doorway, glancing over his shoulder, "Sweat dreams."

Never mind, she thought, he was on the Hate List, he definitely in the top 3 of the Hate List.

The door slammed behind him.

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 **thnks for reading! srry about any errors i did this in one sitting and my contacts r so fuckin dry rn**

 **reviews r appreciated ! xoxo**


	3. Stan, I've Got the Plan

The next five days went by in a sickening blur of avoiding Ultron and trying to stay sane. Simone hardly slept, the stress and constant banging from her house guest made sure of that. She didn't know what he was building down there, she didn't want to know. Okay, that was a lie, but she only did because the racket he made was equivalent to a war zone.

Simone didn't know what to do. The weather hadn't let up and she was practically snowed in with no reason to leave. She had food, power, and the pipes froze only on occasionally(not that there was any hot water left, Ultron made sure of that) but nothing unbearable, except for the fact that said evil robot had torn out her internet router three days ago, but she'd live. The woman wasn't even sure if she could leave, the A.I might just kill her is she asked if to go and he thought she'd snitch.

Who would believe her though? Hello, yes I'm Simone… You don't know me? Oh I'm the hermit just out of town, anyway, the dead-but-not-really robot that tried to destroy the world from Russia is in my house! Small world, ha ha! While your at it, get the Avengers to sign my tit.

Right, that'd go over well. She'd have a better chance at convincing the cops reality is actually a hologram and the concept of time is false. Plus, she realized, there might be some explaining to do with her perpetual limp and bruises.

She was always a handy and resourceful person, she had to be growing up, but this was a little pathetic. Her ankle was definitely sprained, or rolled, wiki-answers couldn't help her tell the difference, so the limb was current mummified in a centimeter thick bandage of duct-tape. Putting any weight on said appendage and the entire leg would give out. Crawling on hands and knees was the least painful way for her to get about.

The bruises were easier to ignore, but not impossible, especially whenever she saw a mirror There was a collar of yellow and maroon bruises against brown skin in the unfortunate shape of a hand. The state of her hip and head weren't much better. There was a small cut where her skull cracked against the ground accompanied by a small headache, but it didn't feel concussion worthy.

Her hip just hurt. That's all she wanted to say, its solid bruise matched the color of her neck and started creeping down her thigh. Even crawling didn't stop the tender leg from hurting, but it had kept her from cleaning up the mess they made.

No, the mess Ultron made, if he hadn't barged in there wouldn't be anything to fix in the first place.  
The woman sighed, she was still pissed she had to start using the back up hearing aids when the only survivor from Ultron's debut finally croaked. She couldn't afford an extra set right now, not with student loans and mortgage.

Forcing herself to her down to her knees, she crawled down to the kitchen and started setting anything salvageable on the counter. A drawer had been pulled out of place and she needed to set another nail in the wall for her cousin's painting. There was only one problem: the tools were in basement… with the robot.

Letting out a whine she began the slow journey to the garage, she'd have to confront him sooner or later.  
Her hands crunched against the dirty concert, grimacing at how disgusting her hands would be. Simone reached the hatched basement door and pried it open.

stairs.

Gross, decaying stairs.

She wanted to scream and paw her way back into bed, but she bit her tongue and steeled her nerved before started the backwards descent. It was arduous, painful, and she hissed whenever a step wasn't where she expected and the knee banged on the step's edge, but she made it.

She pivoted on her knees and started making her way to the other end of the garage, pointedly ignoring other decapitated robots around her. Arms, legs, she even had to maneuver around a head, staring blankly up at her. What was he doing down here? Don't ask, Simone, she scolded herself, 'You really, really, don't wanna know.'

"I'm sorry the place is such a mess, I wasn't expecting visitors."

Simone let out a cry of surprise at the sudden voice. He was glowing, a glowing robot, he shouldn't be that sneaky.

"Come to join the bad guys?" He teased as she turned around to face him.

Ultron hardly look the same. His body now capable of standing up straight with significantly less bullet holes and two hands, it even looked like most of his wires were tucked back into place, if the lack of sparking was anything to go off. Simone was already outmatched then, this was getting ridiculous.

"Come to get some nails," She sniffed, "and a screwdriver."

Ultron sighed, crossing his arms dramatically. Actually, everything about him was dramatic, right down to the fact that he, a mouthless robot, _sighed_. He looked her up and down, or, down and lower considering she wasn't even at his knees before resigning and walking away, "You're no fun."

Simone sat there, starring after him as he sauntered over to the wok table currently housing another drone, and returned, dropping the requested tools in her lap. She bit her tongue again, a small smile tugging at her lips, "Thanks."

He didn't respond quickly, she glanced up to see him staring before turning around like he was caught, "You're welcome."

Tucking her prizes in her hoody's pocket, she started back up for the stairs, "Come up and get them back when I'm done, okay?"

He laughed, his back to her, "And miss the sight human on their knees? Never."

She shrugged, starting her ascent, "Either or."

Simone thought she heard him say 'spoil sport' but couldn't be sure, so she opted to finish her upstairs climb and get to work.

The 'repairs' went by quickly, Simone using the couch for elevation and getting the cabinet back into a usable state. Pots and pans still covered the counters but it was something like progress. So Simone labored her way over to the couch and turned on the TV. She could watch the news, another update on how everything's screwed up because of the bunk-buddy in the basement, or run through HBO till something caught her eye…

HBO it was.

She didn't need a reminder of what monster was under the bed. She'd already thrown up from stress this week, thanks.

Simone tried to focus on the screen, the characters and their story, but her mind kept dragging reality back to the spotlight. Her confrontation, if she could even call it that, didn't go the way she wanted. Simone was hopping, maybe, she'd get the nails and call him out on some bullshit before crawling proudly upstairs. Instead her mind drew a blank and she quipped back at him before offered the A.I back into the main rooms. Round two, she supposed.

"I'm in too deep," Simone whispered, letting her head fall back against the couch cushions, and regretting it when pain sprouted at the movement.

She resigned, and went back to staring blankly at the TV. She wasn't even sure what was happening, or who how long she gazed emptily into the box before she gave up and switched it to the news.

"The Avengers yet against save the day as a killer army of mechanoid tried, and failed, to exterminate the human population. Reports are being released that the machine's where rogue program from the terrorist group HYDRA, who has yet to take claim for the attack-"

She clicked the channel off, a little shell shocked, "Shit."

"Stark saving face yet again, it seems."

"GOD!," Simone jumped, jerking around to the robot behind her. Her heart pounding in against her ribs.  
"You've got to stop doing that!" She complained, settling back on the couch, "I'm gonna have a stroke."

He shrugged again, rolling his hand nonchalantly, "You have the screw driver?"

"Over there," She said, nodding toward the kitchen counter.

Fiddling with the hood strings, she felt the question rise up come out before she had time to think, "So, was is Stark or Hydra that, um, made you, I mean."

The screwdriver burst in his hand.  
She sat up indignantly, "Hey! That cos- What'd you say?"

"Stark," He growled out. So she did miss something. A shiver when up her spine at how much hate laced his words, what did the billionaire even do?

"Why?" She couldn't stop herself from asking. She hit herself in the head, this was obviously a bad topic, a very, very bad topic with a very, very bad person… program… thing.

"Because he's a murderer! A hypocrite!," He turned around and marched closer to her. Simone refused to move, she refused to give him that satisfaction.

"So he's just like you."

She bit her cheek in regret.

"He's NOTHING like me! Stark's a plague, a monster!" Ultron ranted, "All of them, your entire species included, murderers, thieves. The difference between me and Stark is that he's trying to sustain the world for a few more pitiful years and I'm trying to save it."

"You tried to kill an entire species!," Simone reminded him, feeling her heart pound in her ears, "How the fuck'd you even come to that conclusion?

He jarred backwards, surprised, she guessed, "I saw that it was the only way."

That wasn't an answer, " _how._ "

Ultron growled at her, "I saw your history, your wars, I don't know if that fact I was connected to the internet escaped your mind, or maybe you just didn't hear me."

"Ooh, I've never heard that one before!" She snarled, "So you're telling me you spent, what like, a couple minutes on the web and decided 'this is it, is as good as it is, humanity has got to go?!"

She jabbed a finger at him, "That's not fair!"

He snorted, "It's your species history, it's completely fair."

"It's the _highlights_ of humanity! Are you really saying a couple hundred people are the template for seven billion?"

"I"m saying that not all humans are inherently good."

"We aren't all inherently bad, either!"

"To many of you are."

Running her hands through her hair she wanted to puke, runaway, and hit him at the same time. It didn't make sense, maybe because she was one of those 'not inherently good' people, but there were plenty of others who were! Her fingernails dug into her scalp in frustration and she looked up at the metal man in front of her.

Groaning, her hands dropped to her lap, "You're not going to change your mind are you?"

"No, not really."

"Fine," She relented, "Just, when your down there making your an idiot."

He flapped his hand dismissively, heading back to the garage door. His nonchalance was infuriating, he still wanted to wipe out humanity and he didn't even care.. She reached for the remote and turned it on again, seeing a picture of what she could only assume was Ultron.

"What happened to your old body?" She called, trying to catch him before he descended to the 'lair' as she was starting to dub it.

"A friend tore out my heart."

Ouch, some friend.

"Karma."

He laughed and left her sitting alone on the couch, again.

Forcing the air from her lungs she checked the wall clock, 7:17. It was around time to make dinner. Sliding off the leather seat she made her way back to the fridge and tried to pick out her meal, bread and peanut butter seemed all she was up for.

Grabbing the bread and crawling to the pantry, her thoughts turned to Ultron.

He was an idiot, an incredibly smart, dangerous, idiot. Simone didn't know what to do, letting him use her own home as a hold up before he tried to kill everyone again was wrong. She just couldn't think of anything to stop him. It was frustrating, she decided, slathering the whole wheat with peanut butter, that doing nothing would make her partially responsible for the mayhem he caused.

She couldn't pretend like he didn't terrify her, even if he's a shadow of what he used to be. Taking a bite out of her sandwich she decided to try. Maybe she could change his mind, she doubted it, the A.I was insane, but what other options did she have? Suddenly it came to her, if she couldn't change his philosophy, she could change his opinion of her.

Simone could rat him out. It'd take time, he'd need to trust her, and she'd need to be careful unless she wanted a rerun of their first encounter, but she could do it. She'd need a phone, and a way to contact an avenger. Humorlessly, she realized the one Ultron hated the most would be the easiest to reach.

Tony Stark.

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 **haha good luck outsmarting an A. I kiddo we are rooting for you.**

 **s/o to top kicker for the review! thanks a bunch xoxo**

 **thank you for reading! Tell me what you think!**


	4. Damned if you do, Damned if you don't

**S/o to Haa1ofDream, Wirry, and Looma! I'm glad u like it so far! The real MVPS.**

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At two in the morning she realized her draft for a company blog was due in a couple days, and she wasn't even halfway done. Initiate the major crunch zone. It was some DIY vegan website for the middle-aged mother of three who didn't have time for a existential crisis. She didn't care, it was a good 6,000 bucks she desperately needed.

Then she remembered the WiFi was out.

All because a potential mass murderer ripped it from the wall, Simone was currently without income. The woman swallowed the the apprehension in her throat, she needed to work, she needed to eat, and she couldn't do that without internet. It was time to poke the bear and hope it'd fix the router before tearing her in half.

Rising creakily from the desk she snatched the umbrella she'd been using to supplement a cane and hobbled down the robot's garage. Oh no, no, no, no, it was _hers_ , no matter how much the megalomaniac trashcan acted like it wasn't. He was a parasite, not a tenant.

She clicked the umbrella three times on the basement's hatch before entering, a courteous 'put away any corpses, I'm coming down'. This time he didn't surprise her, she was thankful for that, but he didn't say hello either.

A bad mood then, she had to stop herself from limp-sprinting back to the safety of her 'd never been around him in a genuinely peevish mood. The A. I was an emotional roller coaster on a good day, and she just started to really heal.

"Hello..?," She peeked around a wooden beam, careful not to touch anything, "Ultron, where are you?"

She saw him, hunched over a tablet that currently hosted another drone. The robot didn't even bother to turn around and face her, just bark a harsh 'What'. It took good percentage of her willpower not to flinch.

"I need you to fix the router."

His hand ran over his head, catching on the metal rivets. He didn't say anything, a noncommittal 'hm' left the A.I but besides that nothing else. Something was wrong, Simone wasn't an emotional genius, she took psychology once in high school, her knowledge ended there. For all she knew he was ironing out his evil scheme. She reminded herself that even though she was either the least or possibly the most qualified person to deal with daddy issues, she needed to earn his trust.

"What's up?" She asked, hobbling closer to pear over the robotic shoulder.

"Apparently personal space is a precious commodity," He groused.

She took as graceless step backwards, "…Sorry."

Ultron shrugged, finally turning out to face the woman, she almost believed he sounded remorseful, almost, "You know I can't give you that."

Her mouth quirked as she her eyes dodged his, "Loose lips sink ships, right."

He turned away and marched to another android shell, ripping off part of it's casing to get to the inner wires, "Exactly."

The woman grimaced, watching him make quick work of it's inner mechanisms. She thought about the human equivalent, a weird mix of Hannibal Lector and grave robbers, lobotomy's worst nightmare, "I need to work."

"Incidentally, so do I," The A.I drolled.

Infuriating. The thought of cutting power to the house started to seem very appealing. 'Friends, Simone,' she reminded her self, 'You have to make nice.'

"What're you doing?"

"Working."

The idea of getting too close to him was beyond her reach of bravery, so she stayed still, trying to swallow the anxiety in her voice, "What's wrong?"

"Besides the depressing lack of personal space, nothing really."

She stayed still. The line she was walking felt thin. The only thing that kept her there was the memory of his failure. 7 billion people could be relying on how the next few days or months played out.

He stood, fighting not to visibly tense, she met the robot's glowing eyes, "I'm rebuilding, starting over."

Ultron turned and started reconnecting wires and metal bits to the other body. The drone was identical to him, give or take a few bullet holes. If it started moving around Simone wasn't sure she'd be able to tell the difference.

"I just need a few helping hands," He started soldering the beaten chest back together, a small sound of victory when he leaned away, apparently finished.

She searched for something to say, nothing that wouldn't enrage the A. I came to mind: Isn't almost dying once enough? Don't you see how stupid you are? Couldn't you find a better hobby, like knitting or cricket? Those were among a few of the best.

Simone wasn't going to leave, not until she at least got what she wanted. If Ultron could be secretive, she could be persistent, "You know, one of them could supervise me."

"As lovely as as your company is I actually do need to work."

tongue in cheek she tapped the umbrella impatiently, "It'll be a drone, not you."

"Same thing."

"That's lowkey kinda freaky," She muttered uncomfortably, her eyes skittering around the celling.

He gave her a humorous hum and went back to ignoring her. This was not going the way she wanted, "Please, Ultron?"

"Fine."

She nearly jolted in the air when the droid rushed to a sitting position, its 'eyes' glowing red. Simone leaned heavily on her umbrella-cane while the adrenaline pumped through her shaking body. She hated him, oh God, did she hate him.

It took a second for his words to sink in, and her to calm down. If the situation had been different, Simone would've grinned. Instead she thanked him and led Ultron's little henchman upstairs with a borrowed tool set.

The cords and wires didn't take long to mesh back together, and soon she was working again, the drone standing sentry. She wouldn't lie, it was a little creepy with it, or him, always watching her. It wasn't perfect, but soon she might be able to get to Tony Stark's website, find a contact number or anything to reach him.

Simone wouldn't worry about it, it the possibility of Ultron freaking out and crushing her windpipe was still too real.

Night melded into morning and the woman was left rubbing her raw eyes. She'd labored till non, sent her mom an email, ordered new soap when she got mildly sidetracked. But she still managed to scrap together a rough draft to send in for approval by her employers, definitely worth the all nighter.

Simone sighed, It was too late to go to sleep now, it'd ruin her sleep schedule further. She could watch more TV or try and revive her shriveled cactus with a few sprinkles of water. It was going to be a long, boring day. Groaning the woman idly complained about needed a cup of coffee, tea, anything to wake her up.

"Fun fact: talking to yourself is a sign of schizophrenia."

She jumped, her head jarring back to far, drawing out a hiss as she rubbed the sensitive flesh,"Don't make me paranoid."

"Now, if you're done being 'responsible'," She could _feel_ the quotations around that, "I'll be going."

Massaging her temple she flapped him away lazily. Talking to him wouldn't be fun with a fatigue induced headache, not that it was anyway. Wait, coffee. She leaned out the door, holding the cluttered desk for support, "Boil some water!"

The woman didn't actually think he would, but it was worth a shot. The internet thing was a risk, yet he was begrudgingly willing to do that! He was like a cat, she thought, annoying, entitled but occasionally willing to help you out or leave a dead rat at your door if they thought there'd be a reward. Well, an insane cat that wanted to destroy the world, but no one's purrfect.

She snorted and strained to her feet, waddling down to the biggest surprise of her life: Water on the stove top.

Maybe sleep deprivation had finally gotten to her and she was seeing things, or maybe she actually had Schizophrenia. Stumbling towards the heating pot, the warmth radiating off it felt real, "Oh my God."

She blankly grabbed the press pot and coffee grinds, barely aware of how much black powder she scooped up, "Oh my God."

A narcissistic, god-complexed, manchild, super computer started boiling her coffee water. She didn't know whether to run down there and demand who the doppleganger was or give him a solid pat on the back and 'good Samaritan' sticker.

By the time she had both hands crossed and pressing down on the french press the woman realized she had no right to be surprised by his actions. Caught of guard, sure, the A.I was the world's No. 1 threat for a solid eight days, but she actually knew nothing about him.

He was funny-ish, he hated Stark, and humans are sinners that need to repent, but there it ends. Was there anything more to him? Did he ever bother to discover things about himself beyond his 'purpose'?

She slammed down some toasted and waited for her drink to set. Ultron made her more and more uneasy. Not just the whole, 'evil robot' thing, but something was just… missing. She didn't want to find out what that thing was, it wasn't her business to fix him. Simone needed to get his trust, but it ended there, everyone would be dead otherwise.

That thought suddenly made her want to puke.

So she ate without thinking, barely tasting her food, before ambling down to said robot.

Both of the droid bodies were working, scuttling about, sorting and reorganizing all the miscellaneous robot guts he'd removed.

"Hello, hello!" He greeted almost sing song. He was being rather chipper considering twelve hours ago it was like puling teeth to exist in the same atmosphere.

"Just watching," She said, looking around for a place to sit, "If, uh, that's okay ."

"The more the merrier, I've never said."

She ignored that.

Simone, without any better option, lowered her creaky joints down on the stairs. She didn't bother asking what he was doing, it more more fun to think of the possibilities behind them. The pile of metal to the right next to a few boxes of old junk and a dirty mirror was going towards his 'Destructron 3000' , and the one under the stairs, made mostly of wires and some weird glowing bits was for the 'Ultra Hacker: Death com 1'.  
Soon though, she started to get bored, tapped her foot and watching them walk back and forth only had so many charms. What happened to all the sounds he made during the first week? He made sleep impossible for her, and now he's was occupying himself with secretary work.

"What music do you listen too?" Inwardly she was hitting herself in the head.

"Norwegian death metal always clicked with me."

Simone dragged her hands across her face, "I can't even tell if you're joking."

"I am," He answered, his voice laced with amusement, "Can't say I had a lot time to figure it out, you know, before I was killed."

Before you tried to murdered an entire species, she screamed internally, "If you want I'll play some when I work, the Queen B's pretty universal."

"Who?"

"You downloaded the internet and you don't know who Beyonce is?"

He paused, the only sound was the other drone organizing materials.

"Wring the alarm."

Laughter bubbled up before she had any chance to stop it. She could feel his smug attitude when she snorted, but she couldn't help it. The whole situation, the joke, it was a little surreal to be sitting in a basement with a rogue A.I making Beyonce jokes.

By the time she settled again, she made it halfway up the stairs, and called down to him, "It's a deal then, I'll DJ next time."

"I look forward to it."

Simone closed the hatch and retreated back inside her room as her body caught up to the last few hours. Pounding against her sternum and blood rushing in her ears, only one crossed Simone's mind:

'Please don't let me regret this.'

* * *

 **another chapter!**

 **What do you guys think of the pacing? Too slow? Too fast? I can always use the constructive criticism(over literally anything lmao) and it motivates me a lot.**

 **Thanks so much for reading! pls review ! xoxo**


	5. Wrong Thing, Right Reason

**Authors note bottom, thank you for reading. xoxo.**

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Every other day she'd toddle upstairs with Ultron's lackey. Mostly in silence besides him occasionally pointing something out or make a comment or two, but the only real conversations they had were over music.

At first she played whatever he wanted to avoid getting her internet privileges revoked, but then she started actually _arguing_ with him. A little slip of the tongue, snapping at the A.I about being tired of the same thing every day. Soon it became a morning ritual of who picked the Pandora station, and who's music sense was better(according to Ultron, her's was the bastard child of a premature career and synthesizer). Then it dawned on Simone that it was starting to feel… normal.

She wasn't sure if that scared her yet, but today while sitting in full recline on the couch, she wouldn't think about it. The next twenty-four hour period was dedicated to relaxing. All her checks had been cashed, projects finished, applications sent in, and tonight was a hot and steamy date with Netflix and instant macaroni.

Flicking through the channels there was hardly anything on. The news still buzzed about the most recent global threat thanks to the residential artificial intelligence. The normal sob stories made sent a numb wave over her brain as she tuned them out: Blind Man Sees Again; watch him cry, a politician lied, again(and no one is surprised), talk about canceling The Kardashians, the real tragedies.

She sighed, disappointed, as her knuckles crashed against the snack bowl. It was empty, just like her stomach.

Simone pulled herself up and limped to the kitchen before palming the pantry open. It was practically empty. Resigning, she plucked a box of cereal from the shelf and made a mental note to go shopping.

The puckering bruises on her neck weren't all to visible, nothing her dark hair wouldn't cover. She rain her fingers through it absentmindedly, she needed to cut it again. She hated barber shops, she had a few regrettable haircuts when she was a kid, everything from cornrows to a Beatle Bob, and no desire to repeat those mistakes.

Annalise could cut it, she realized.

Oh no.

Annalise.

She dash/shuffled to her office and flipped through the calendar, "Shit."

"Shit, shit shit, shit." She was supposed to get the woman and her girlfriend from the airport in two days. She didn't have food, her face was busted up, she was hiding a genocidal robot in her basement.

Ultron needed to go.

He needed to go _right_ now, and she had no idea how to get rid of him. It was just a couple days, the A.I could halt his evil 'kill all humans' plan for that long, right?

She groaned and waddled downstairs. Only to find he wasn't there, either of him.

"You've got to be kidding me."

Darting back to her room, cereal still in hand, the woman chucked it on her bed and threw open the closet. Folding doors creaking open on rusty hinges as she pried them apart. she slipped on the first pair of sweatpants and coat in reach.

"Of all the good for nothing piece of shit robots," She yanked on a boot, her knuckles white from her grip, "I get the one that can't fucking communicate."

She was angry, probably frothing, and even though a limping 5'3 being of rage wasn't nearly as intimidating in puffy palm leaf jacket, she would kill him.

"I can't even get a goodbye?" She said, busting through the front door, and mimicked his voice, "'My recycled metal ass doesn't need to tell anyone shit! Not like going to a populated fucking area could back fire in any way! I'm a robotic god! Nothing'll go wrong.'"

"Idiot."

She threw her hands in the air in frustration. What if he was caught? What if he was seen? Just mechanical Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dummer wandering through the snow, like no one else had eyes.

What if someone caught him and Ultron snitched on her? His weird robo-horror workshop was still scattered across the floor like a Jackson Pollock. A big brush stroke saying 'Simone cooperated willing with a murderer, arrest her' was right there.

Just find him, she told herself, just find him.

Maybe she was a little worried, so what? He'd been squatting with her for three weeks and they hardly ever talked, he was more of an obligation.

Annalise was a different story. They'd been best friends for years and the last thing she wanted was Ultron giving her a stroke. She cared about the other woman, and he was a danger to them both. Simone could get hurt not Rocky, this was her mess, not her friend's.

Just find him, she said internally. Simone could deal with the rest later. She ducked her head, burrowing her chin in the fur collar. Her eyes scanned the snow, foot prints, she could follow those like the bread crumbs.

She searched the parameter of the house, finally finding a print that was definitely to smooth to be a pair of shoes. Got you, Tin Man, she thought proudly, and started her hike after him.

It took her twenty minutes and a growing throb in her hip and ankle to realize he was headed into town. She swore under her breathe and started trudging faster against the pain.

The first of buildings started poking out of the all consuming white as she huffed in relief, silently thankful the trail lead around them instead of through. She just wanted to go home, she was cold, tired, and in pain.

Anger returned as she remembered there'd be a twenty minute plus some walk home and shoved her numb hands in the coat pockets. Trying to ignore the feeling of crumbs and lint on her knuckles, she kept going till she heard a yell and gunshot.

She stopped, "Oh, shit."

"Please don't be Ultron, please, please, _please,_ don't be Ultron" she begged, starting an unbalanced jog, her ankle on fire in the knee deep snow. She had to get there, now.

Then she saw it. A cop. She bit her tongue to keep from swearing in surprise.

The man was older, mid-forties, maybe? Simone wasn't good at guessing age, but going by the beer belly he wasn't a young spry buck anymore, and a tiny hand gun and baton could only take out the robots eye at most.

Ultron was talking, the voices were too far away for her hearing aids to make out, but she could see the cops jaw flapping. It reminded her of an old high school teacher. Whenever he'd get mad the lining of fat would jiggle like a water balloon. She hated him, he gave her a C.

She tried getting closer, noticing the A.I had something wrapped in a blue tarp clutched against his chest. He moved it to his left arm, trying to be casual, she guessed. Simone ducked behind a tree closest to the pair and watched.

The man reached behind him, going for the gun again.

'Oh, you dumb fuck,' she though as her stomach dropped. Ultron would kill him.

Ultron would kill him and she'd be _watching_. She wanted to throw up, run away, and scream all at the same time. The officer stalled, she didn't know what the A.I said, but it gave her a chance.

Simone wouldn't watch this man die. She didn't know him, she should just walk away and pretended she stayed at home, but she was never good at making the right choice, was she?

Limping through the snow as quietly as possible, she could feel Ultron's stare burning through her. Her heart beat pounded through her body as her ears rang, she didn't dare breathe in case the cop heard her, and raised her arms.

She crushed her palms against his skull with a sharp exhale.

It was awkward, clumsy, the man's head was definitely to far up from her grubby hands to be effective. He stumbled forward, air rushing out of his body and before he could turn around fully she struck him again.

Right against the temple, while screaming. The whole ordeal was very badass.

He fell to the ground and didn't move. 'I killed him' she thought, "Oh…. _FUCK_!"

She collapsed to her knees next to him with her fingers grasping for the blubbery neck.

"Please don't be dead, oh fucking hell!" Digging in her nails she searched for the man's pulse, breath coming in short and fast with a very passionate 'fuck' on each exhale. She was trying to save him from getting dismembered by Arnold Schwarzenegger's little brother, not do the dead herself!

"Oh thank God," She said, feeling the steady beat under his patchy skin, "Thank you, Baby Jesus. _Thank you_."

She wrenched herself back up from the snow, spraying white power with her arms pinwheeling and fingers raw from cold.

She just hit a cop, a uniformed officer, a person of the law.

The scenarios ran through Simone's head at a breakneck pace as she stood shakily, knees bent, hands out, and the whites of her eyes flashing. Did he see her? What if she got caught, police busting down her door and not only finding her, but the rogue A.I in her basement. The one who barely two months ago tried to exterminate humanity, and she just inadvertently helped him.

"Christ," She wheezed, stumbling back into a tree. Her hand whisked up to clutch her frantic heart as Ultron's gaze locked with hers. The fact that he looked like she just flashed him was little condolence, "Oh my God…I can't breathe."

Ultron snapped out of whatever shock he felt and took a step towards the shaking woman, "Who knew you were such a knockout! I mean, the bat gave me a pretty good idea, but you're full of surprises!"

He sounded absolutely _delighted_.

She whimpered pathetically in response. Simone was in so much trouble, practically destined to spend the rest of her life in a jumpsuit, and he was congratulating her. The shallow gasps of air barely entered her lungs as she started stumbling around, not even knowing where the destination was, "I just wasted a cop."

"Congratulations," He said, deadpan, shifting the tarp on his hip.

"No, no, no, no, you don't understand!" She insisted, waving her hands in front of her and staggering about the officer, "I'm dead."

"Oh, shit, shit, I'm so dead, How many years do think this is? I me-" Her breath came in short and shallow barely entering her lungs as the blood roared in her ears, "I mean, that's like, five years right? Assaulting an officer's at least ten, I think?"

"Simone," The A.I warned. He wanted her to calm down, she realized, but how could she! There was no way he didn't see her, she'd spend the rest of her life in jail, her future was over, everything she and her mother worked for would be for nothing!

She heaved in a staggered lungful, practically choking on the words, "Ye-Yeah, I read that somewhere, ten years. But he's passed out, he's totally fucking gone."

The snow had started again, she barely noticed, a ragged, gasping laugh forced out of her, "Ha, ha! Holy _shit_ , he's totally out, that's thirty years. There's no way that's not more, forty, fifty? I'll be _grey_."

"Stop," He snapped, taking a long step towards her.

"My life's over, a cop, a _cop_! Look," She said, pointing at the mans bald scalp, "He's got a fucking hat and everything!"

The woman didn't even notice Ultron charging her till he had her caged by the arms against a tree, "Simone! Shut. Up."

She looked back at him, big eyed and open mouthed like she just had the most horrifying epiphany of a lifetime. Still gasping for breath, her mind feeling fuzzy and dark around the edges, she leaned closer and whispered, "What if prison _changes_ me."

"For God's sake."

He pulled her forward and threw her against the tree, her skull cracking against the bark.

Stars erupted in her vision as the word spun, lava dripping across her brain from the site of impact. The numb from her hands elbow deep in snow didn't even register against the colors swimming in her eyes as she gulped for air. The sensation of the earth shifting underneath her felt far to convincing so the woman pushed herself into the powder so her body wouldn't roll into space.

The icy tree tops looked so far away, the fat snowflakes twirling down made her feel like she was at the bottom of a snow globe. She laid there, the ice felt so good on her pounding head, and tried to calm down her frantic lungs. Plus, she thought, fluttering her lashes closed with a groan, it was so pretty.

It couldn't have been more than four minutes before she processed the distant mumbling as Ultron calling her name. She never forgave herself for the unbelievably brilliant line her head trauma convinced her to say.

"Five more minutes, daddy."

Rolling face first in the snow, she laced her fingers around the back of her head. Either hiding in shame at the fact she just called the mechanical antichrist 'daddy'. It was embarrassing in kinky or parental context. Way to go, Simone, she thought, smooth.

Part of her was glad he didn't say anything about it, the other half flailed as he yanked her up by the hair instead. Stumbling to her feet she just managed to find a center balance before her tugged again, dragging out a scream from her lungs.

"You're joking." He said, his free hand ran over his faceplate. He flapped the appendage attached to her, ignoring her yelps, and then reality hit her. Her hair was stuck in his gears. A tiny whine leaked from her throat at how unfair life was.

"This is you're fault." He accused, honing in the LED eyes at her.

"You're right!" She bit back sarcastically, "That's my hand, I'm sorry."

He yanked and she apologized. This was just her luck, Simone doubted she even had a right to be taken by surprise anymore, "Just… Hold still."

Her fingers worked at the strands, trying to save as much as possible. She winced when hair had to pulled from the roots or snap in the joints. She always like her locks, it was dark and thick just like her mom's and the woman didn't want to make it shorter.

When only a few pieces were left, Ultron yanked his hand away, examining in the fingers, shuddering.

"Yuck."

Maybe you shouldn't've grabbed me, dickhead, she said internally while staggering past him, "Let's go."

"Well, aren't you taking charge."

She sighed, huffing hot air on her numb fingers. She was done, every ache in her body from the ankle to her head was amplified by the cold and how wet her clothes were, "Please, let's just Go."

The A.I made a 'one minute' gesture, telling her to be a dear and wait. Simone wanted to throw a bus at him, but complied.

She looked by the cop on the snow, "what're we gonna do about him?"

"Oh! nothing."

"We're just gonna… leave him there?"

"Bingo."

"Alright." She said.  
The man would wake up soon, she told herself, and shelter wasn't more than five minutes away. So she rolled her shoulder and started turning back.

Ultron was being annoying. He decided to walk side by side no matter if she sped up or, more likely, slowed down. It was tense, and quiet. Neither one of them broke the icy silence and she debated turning off her hearing aids out of spite in case he did.

Simone kept tripping, her left leg shaking and the right, with it's busted ankle, could barely hold her weight. The A.I was getting frustrated having to stop constantly and pause for her to recover, and it was only twenty minutes into what would be a forty five minute walk.

'It's your fault I'm out here, you can suffer too.' she thought bitterly, her foot getting caught again, bringing the woman down to her hands. Simone wanted to cry.

His feet stopped in front of her, "Why did you follow me?"

She groaned, "Can this wait?"

"You have a terrible habit of avoiding my questions. I'll ask again: why?"

She sighed, grimacing as she put herself on her knees. Simone didn't think she should tell him the truth, it might ruin a chance for her gaining his trust, a chance she desperately needed, "You weren't there."

"That doesn't follow through."

"You weren't there! You didn't tell me you were leaving! I panicked, okay?" She was mildly proud of herself, she wasn't really lying, but she didn't say anything about Annalise either. 'Look at me, Iron Boy! A good person.' Her brain screamed. She liked Iron Boy, that'd piss him off, she'd use it if she wanted her neck crunched.

"So you found me and attacked the authorities," He stated. The A.I was stock still above her, his usually expressive mannerisms on hold. He was gaging her.

I didn't wan't you to kill him, came out as, "He had a gun."

Ultron didn't move. 'Oh fuck this', she thought, "He had a gun and I didn't want him to die."

" _There's_ the whole truth," He praised smugly.

Her eyes followed him as he strolled beside her, switching the hip supporting his package. She nearly choked on her tongue when his arm went around her waist and heaved her up. He didn't push her away, he started walking, letting the woman lean on him, full arm around the shoulder and everything.

Stumbling forward with a glazed look on her eyes, she didn't dare look anywhere but forward, uttering a quiet thanks. He hummed and adjusted his grip, blunt fingers digging into the thick coat.

Why was he helping her? Was he finally started to warm up? She hoped so, at this rate he'd sneak out and blow up Rangeley, and that was the only place with a Best Buy in the next 100 mile radius. She needed to call the Avengers and she needed to do it soon. But right now he was being nice, she'd enjoy it while it lasted.

They walked together in silence until Simone pipped up, "You said my name."

His hand shifted on her side, hiking her up a little higher his head still facing forward, "Do I need to ask permission next time?"

She had to remind herself to enjoy the moment, and laughed softly under her labored breaths, even with Ultron's help walking was becoming harder and harder, the cold was penetrating her bones and freezing tired muscles, "You just…never have before."

"You were hyperventilating."

"Thanks, I almost forgot," She said, not unkindly, a small smile sprouting on her chapped lips. She ran her tongue over the abused flesh, ready to eat a stick of Burt's Bees when she felt the bottom crack.

"Don't mention it, it's good to keep everyone around you grounded, makes your personality palpable." He shrugged, the movement jostling her head slightly, Simone bit back the hiss of pain, not wanting to ruin his mood.

She laughed instead, telling him he did a good job and tugging the jacket closer. He acted confident, Simone mused, but she had niggling feeling it wasn't genuine. She got that vibe off Stark, too whenever he showed up on TV. They fell back into muteness, it was less tense then before, less dazed, but they were still wary of each other, or, at least Simone was still paranoid about setting him off.

By the time they made it home the woman was panting weakly, sending puffs of steam out with every harsh exhale. She never felt this out of shape in her life, the wounds could be partially to blame, but there was no denying her body wasn't like it used to be when Simone ran Cross Country.

The A.I helped her to the coach but apparently the courtesy ended there as he dumped her unceremoniously on the couch, wet clothes and all. She uttered another thanks and he waved his hand passively, heading back down to the Lair with his tarp.

Twisting around on the furniture, her hands gripped the the coach's backboard and became a rest for her chin, "Hey!"

He paused and she continued, "What'd you take?"

"Secret."

She frowned, her eyebrows pressing forward, she took out a cop for him! "Please?"

"Bondage gear."

She fake laughed obnoxiously and threw out a middle finger when he wasn't looking. Fine, if he wanted to take his bad guy propaganda downstairs, he could. Simone rolled off the couch and pealed out of her soaking clothes piece by sticky piece, it was getting late, the sun setting, but she still had the rest of her evening.

Crawling in her underwear to the bathroom she barely had the energy to throw her load on the floor and start running hot water. Her chance at relaxing was definitely ruined, and the constant throb on the back of her head made Netflix seem like a bad idea, but macaroni was definitely still in her future.

Stripping off the rest of her clothes she slithered in the steamy liquid, letting out a guttural moan as the cold withered from her tingling limbs and was replaced by heat.

Closing her eyes she voted to tell Ultron about Annalise in the morning and go get groceries on her way to pick up a car. That was a mess for another hour, right now her life was in hot water nirvana, besides, he was in a weird but kind of okay mood, he'd take it well, right?

* * *

 **Long chapter but if was really fun to write let me tell u... Im trying to move their relationship forward from 'don't fucking look at me oh my god' to '...alright.' and CHRIST the reviews for the last chapter were so amazing i lowkey almost or did cry a little bit lmao. But srsly u saved the story. Now i've got the mostly all ironed out and ready to go!**

 **thnks 2 analin and guest!**

 **Miradae: thank u! My search history is p exciting bc of this story tbh.**

 **ObsidianPhantom: thank you SO MUCH, like... cue the tears. I was so worried I made Ultron(and what little I had of him OOC) and i'm SO relieved u like Simone i was afraid she'd b... difficult or w/e but hearing that's like taking off a sports bra that's 2 tight, fresh air and relieving AF. DEFINITELY MORE simone/ultron interaction and scary Ultron i thrive off that shit haha. thank you so much for the review i cry...**

 **Ilopeem: Alright i also started crying here b/c i'm weak and natural selection is coming for me. I appreciated it so much thank you! thank you! She's Indian her mommy's from Asargani in Bihar! we'll learn more about her later in the story! We need more WOC in fanfics tbh. thanks again 4 the review ur so amazing.**

 **as always I'd love to hear from u and reviews r hella motivational and i love hearing what u think about chapters and characters! thanks for reading**

 **xoxo**


	6. Trust Exercises

**I was gonna have this chapter be like... 1 big one but actually im splitting it in two so the pacing it A Ok-ay.** **also i drew Simone b/c i am a better drawer than writer hahan i wanted 2 celebrate over 50 followers and all the reviews :** **post/119641429070/simmy-sim-simone the link is on my profile too 3  
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Simone's morning went by in a shocked blur, and before she knew it the woman was walking home with two arms full of groceries and Annalise's car. The two woman'd be waiting at the airport tomorrow morning, with Ultron's blessing.

Waking up had been a flurry of sheet-tangled panic when she realized only _one_ of the A.I's drone's had come back from yesterday's excursion. And when she achingly tripped her way out of bed, only to crash into the unforgiving hardwood as her body remembered every injury she'd acquired over the last month, she swore never to 'help' Ultron again. Simone thought that was an bad omen for the rest of her day.

Apparently, however, it wasn't. After shuffling against the wall while cradling her blistering skull she knocked furiously on the basement hatch until Ultron rose from the dungeon. He wouldn't tell her where the little guy was-not a surprise-, saying it was just a 'business trip'; and when Simone wasn't impressed by his evasiveness she asked if he was brokering a deal with terrorists or crashing the stock market, the A.I told her he was blowing up a hospital. She dropped the subject after that.

If anyone asked, she wasn't so afraid the woman couldn't make eye contact when telling him about Annalise, but she definitely did when he said, 'fine'. The amount of shock that coursed through her body was equivalent to being flashed by the pope. Uttering a quite thanks and shaking her head dumbly when he asked if there was anything else they went there separate ways.

Everything was oddly numb, from Skyping a cab to drive her to Annalise's house to staring absentmindedly at the soggy green marshmallows in her cereal. She didn't even say hi to the driver, just payed and spent a good thirty minutes trying to find the car keys under a flower pot and drove to Meijer's. And that brought her to the present.

She kicked the door behind her with a bang that made her wince and shuffled in a mess of plastic bags to the kitchen. Throwing a glance over her shoulder to make sure she was alone, Simone buried her arm in the groceries and pulled out a… personal, purchase. Tucking it under the worn sweatshirt, she was silently thankful her ex forgot to take it back. The bulky piece of clothing was perfect for sneaking food into movies, and in this case, her prize back to the safety of her room.

A taser…and it was expansive as hell.

Simone nearly cried when she saw the four hundred big ones she'd be dropping on the tiny black gun, but she needed a weapon in case Ultron went axe murderer crazy again. Besides, it took her longer to choose a color over product. He was a robot, he ran off electricity and metal so for all she knew it'd just be super powerful on him, right? So a taser it was.

It didn't take long to figure out how to set it up, stick A in B and pry back C till it clicks and point, shoot, zap: bye bye robot. Putting the taser in the bed stand she walked back to the kitchen and her heart stopped.

"What did you do?" He demanded, stomping towards her. Simone's eyes bugged as she gulped. How did he know about it already? He wasn't even there when she got back! The woman shuffled in reverse till her shoulders pressed against the wall, a picture frame pressed against her skin. She opened up her palms defensively, "What're you talking about?"

"YOU KNOW WHAT." He yelled. A punch crashed next to her, leaving a nice fist sized hole that could've been her skull. She shrieked, dropped, and somersaulted past the A.I before vaulting gracelessly over the counter. That was the second time she'd done that in the month and a half she'd known him, and the nausea in her head told her it needed to spot.

"I really, _really_ , don't!"

When Ultron stormed towards her the woman threw open a drawer and snatched a rolling pin, aiming at the robot while she yelled warning AH! AH!'s at him. Her mother used to do that when she'd stick her hand in something bad. She wasn't Ultron's mother, she wouldn't scold him, but she would hit him.

"Stop running away!" He snarled, eyeing her across the marble barrier.

"Then stop trying to kill me!" She said, exasperated. Trying valiantly to make her chest stop heaving.

"You ask so much of me."

Ultron leaped over the counter and the woman hardly had time to crack the kitchenware over his face. He grabbed her by the throat and spread a hand across her gut, crushing the intestines underneath as he pinned her to the refrigerator. She gagged at the pressure and limited oxygen entering her body, regretting the army of 50's housewife magnets she purchased on a whim as they dug in her back.

'I'm so fucking glad I bought that taser,' she thought sarcastically, 'Great help.'

"Who did you call?" He demanded. pressing further into her belly. Simone groaned, her tongue numb, she was going to puke. From the pain or the fact that Ultron was going to concave her large intestine, she didn't know.

"I didn' 'all enyon!"

He dropped her, the woman landing in a heap, gulping down air like a fish out of water. "You're amazingly articulate, has anyone told you that?"

Her necked ached, her stomach gurgled, and her legs were screaming because of how she landed. The woman didn't even know what he was talking about, she didn't _call_ anyone, she left and came back, but she was sorely regretting her lapse of judgement, the police would've been better than… whatever this was.

"Fuck… You," She panted. Glaring at the robot.

He squatted down next to her, expressionless eyes burning through the woman's soul. Remorse of her two brave words crashed through her like an unforgiving wave.

"Not in you're wildest dreams," he said. Ultron's mood swings were going to give her premature greying.

She wiggled, trying to get away from his hand as it wrapped around her jaw. She locked all ten of her fingers around his forearm, knuckles white and fingernails bending back. She could feel the terror in her eyes and the blood in her ears as her lungs fought to function, "Now be good and tell me who you called."

Simone wasn't really sure what came over her, but today was apparently a brave one, because what she did next was a death wish: She spat at him.

He reared back with a indigent, 'ew'.

"I didn't call anybody!" She yelled, "and don't praise me like a goddamn pet."

Simone reached and grabbed the cracked rolling pin and splintered it across his skull, using her whole body to power the blow. It barley stopped him, even as she tried scrambling away on her belly he snatched her calf and pulled as she yowled.

Ultron was on top of her, holding her down with his heavier mass, one arm on her back and one smashing her face in linoleum. He was crushing her boobs and the floor was disgusting. She didn't regret spitting on him now. "Who did you call before leaving? Don't lie to me again, I heard you."

'Oh, shit.'

It hit her like a freight train.

"That was the fucking cab driver! Get off me!" She thrashed, her arms and legs kicking furiously at the robot, "I Skype'd the taxi service, asshole!"

"You're joking."

"You're the one that left the router on!" Simone said, giving up on her fruitless effort to throw him off.

He got up, and left, not before giving her hair a solid tug. He was a child, and whatever possessed him to be 'kind' yesterday had obviously shriveled and died. Simone almost told him to apologize, but the feeling of bruises puckering on her flesh kept her mouth shut.

"Sorry."

Well apparently she didn't need too.

She balked. Blinking wildly at the A.I as he stood in the junction between the living room and garage, "What?"

"I said: sorry." He slammed the door.

"What the hell," Simone whispered, falling limp against the cool tiles as the air rushed from her body, "What. The. Ever-loving. Hell."

She weaved her fingers in-between strands of dark hair and pulled letting letting out a wail of frustration. She hated this, she hated the bruises, the stress, getting thrown around like a rag doll, and his mood swings. The woman wanted him gone, she wanted her old life back.

"It's not gonna happen, Simmy," She told herself, sucking in a ragged breath.

She exhaled weakly and gulped, swallowing the bile in her throat. Her life was over, either he'd kill her, the avengers would, or she'd be thrown in jail. Wasting away the chance she had at getting help she forget she even had and now no one would believe she was innocent. Numbness grew like mold under her tongue, Simone was going to be sick.

"Oh, God."

Pulling herself forward she tore open the kitchen cabinet and snatched the trashcan inside, and heaved. She wretched until there was nothing left, and even then her throat clenched, gagging on nothing.

Her whole body shook, leaning over the container with spittle dripping down her chin. She wanted her mom. She didn't care if she was a grown-ass woman; Simone Kadam wanted her mother to hold her and stroke her hair like she when she was five and the kids at school were mean, or the thunder too loud. But this problem wasn't the kind of monster a nightlight and bedtime story could fix.

Fingers numbly tied a knot around the puke-bag as she limped to the bin in her garage. It was quite,Simone didn't hear anything from Ultron's Lair. The woman wasn't sure he could even feel guilt but she prayed he did. He deserved it.

'Ice,' she thought dully, opening the freezer and blinking at the bright light. She dumped a tray in a table clothe and pressed it against her migraine before putting away the groceries. The magnets were pushed away where Ultron shoved her, she shivered.

The woman sighed, she'd screw a painting over the hole he made, eat some toast, and watch TV till she passed out… and her plan went we'll until she remembered a very important fact.

She was mid news-hour when Simone's jaw dropped, the remote falling from her hand and bag of trail mix spilling on the sofa as she darted to her office.

The door locked behind her and she wrenched that laptop open, her fingers dancing over the keyboard. She could get rid of him, her life could go back to normal. No more stress, no more vomit, no more _Ultron_.

A grin spread across her face like a delirious plague.

And then it fell.

She couldn't do it.

She yelled and slammed the computer shut, banging her fists against the table.

"Fuck you! Fuck you!" Simone cursed. She collapsed, resting her face against the the metal.

It didn't feel right. She wouldn't feel guilty, she _refused_. Ultron deserved to be taken, dismantled and be refurbished into a swiffer. He said sorry, so what? That didn't merit her sympathy or mercy.

It just felt like she'd give him the satisfaction of being right. Simone couldn't betray someone she wasn't loyal too, but she could live up to their incredibly low expectations of human morality and fight dirty.

She limped as angrily as possible back to the front of her house and shoved a case of taco rolls in the microwave. She'd rat him out, of course. The world was more important than her pride, but that didn't mean she couldn't make him _hurt_ over it. She'd get his trust, she'd be his friend, make him like her; really, genuinely like her. She'd be his first and only friend and then weasel to the avengers.

It wasn't like before, no, that was the minimum, she wanted this to be personal. Or that's what she told herself.

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 **Baby girl u r dumb as hell and lying to yourself**.  
 **get ready 4 things 2 go to hell in the next couple chapters LMAO.**

 **ilopeem: U are a darling and i love u. and yeah they make it hard 4 themselves to have a good time and make friends? and thanks so much! i was a little worried she was swearing too much but then if u go to a bunch of 5th graders and all their bitterness.. they r worse... simone is nothing to 11yrs old... thank u so much for the review u are a star! xox**

 **SarQ: That means so much! thank you! an do, im rlly weak for robots haha... there's no hope 4 me... Thank you so much! your review is so kind! And she's like 96% from my imagination, i guess there r a few similarities here and there but she handles things a lot differently than i do and is more responsible and manipulative tbh! thanks 4 the question! 33**

 **Sorana3: Your review is amazing and i almost cried like a baby... I'm trying 2 spend more time reviewing the chapters and rewriting the first 2(those were RLLY BAD It's embarrassing...). AND thank you so much! i worry 24/7 im not doing him justice or their relationship/dialogue seems forced. And it's coming up! thing's r gonna be getting real soon, aka here comes the big body. :^)). THNK U SO MUCH 4 ur review ur a star.**

 **2 guest, mina, superbro, and dragon of ying and yang: thank u! and im on summer break rn so i'll be updating a lot!**

 **As always, please review it means the world and thank you for reading! XO**


	7. DARE

***drug and alcohol mentions. One literally in the first sentence, starting off on a good foot i kno**

 **thanks for reading!**

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Simone was hammered. High as a kit and drunk on her ass. Or was it off her ass? On. Off. She was sitting, so drunk _on_ it was. Maybe it wasn't very classy or mature-or even slightly responsible- to be a six year college graduate and sit with two equally drunk women pelting food at each other like savages. Then again, if anyone deserved reprieve, it was Simone. It was more like a game of catch anyway, even if Ellie kept 'accidentally' hitting her in the eyes; hardly uncivilized.

Besides, she hadn't been able to enjoy herself all day yesterday thank to Iron Giant Jr. His double had sauntered back home two days ago before leaving the next morning, all while Simone sat at the radio listening to reports of terrorist bombings. It was an unfortunate coincidence that made her paranoid Captain America would burst down her door and bisect Simone with a righteous shield throw.

Not to mention the car ride to pick up Annalise and her girlfriend was comparable to a domestic interpretation of Fast and Furious. One where she'd eye every police car in a way that came across as 'I'm either hiding a genocidal masochist or crystal meth', and followed the speed limit aggressively. Simone was still irrationally terrified she'd be pulled over by the unconscious cop she left in the woods.

Her only saving grace was that Rocky and her ludicrously tall lover -who's name she learned was Eleanor Denir, and went by Ellie- didn't pry as to why she had a cut on her forehead or limped around like the hunchback of Notre Dame or refused to take off her scarf. They were mercifully satisfied with a feeble, 'oh, I'm an idiot and fell, what can you do?'

Not that Ellie questioned anything to begin with. The woman looked like a ghost and birch tree had a baby. A towering, supermodel baby. She stood a solid foot taller than Simone and hardly said word. She just looked around with her huge baby blue's and only occasionally pipped up. And whenever the woman spoke it was either mildly disturbing or rib splitting hilarious.

She watched everything though, and Simone nearly had a heart attack the morning after they got back. The darker woman had been dutifully observing Annalise make breakfast, seeing as she was the only one who could actually cook, when she noticed a special someone's drone wander away.

'Sasquatch' was definitely a horribly unconvincing answer if the model spotted him, but it's what she was ready to say.

It never came to that though, Ultron stayed in his dungeon and they stayed upstairs. All things considered, it went disturbingly well.

And then they brought out the party gear, which Simone was all to happy to partake in. Hardly able to wait till she heaved in three hits and felt her nerves finally unwind as they could put in a movie, and ignore Ultron.

Thankfully, it worked. She was far to occupied by popcorn and tequila shots to even think about her dirty little secret. And when the model went to the bathroom she was happy enough to spring on Annalise, burying her head in the woman's arm as she played with her hair, "I missed you, Simmy."

"Same here, kiddo."

Annalise groused, she hated when Simone called her that. It was either Rocky or her actual name. It was terribly limiting.

"I'm like… ten days younger than you, stop."

Simone blew a raspberry on her neck, she didn't care. It'd been so long since she'd seen her best friend, a year, she averaged. Her curly hair and earthy skin were a sore sight. The strong arms from years of sports wrapping around her always gave the best hugs, and it was fun to sit on her back during pushups, "Remember 'en we were cheerleaders and you dropped me?"

The other woman shoved her off effortlessly, looking scandalized, "I wouldn't never. _ever_. harm my flower."

"You broke my nose!" Simone laughed, "There was foot on skin contact! I have witnesses"

"Maybe I dropped you a little, but you were being a jerk."

Now it was Simone's turn to look offended, "When have I ever been anything but a dream?"

Annalise's face fell perfectly flat, "I have a list."

"Then give me an example," She said smugly, crossing her arms and falling back on the coach, holding back a grimace when she landed on her growing bruises.

"Like right now, but not telling me what's wrong."

Oh, Shit. Simone had really thought she was in the clear, "What d'you mean?"

Her friend stuck out her lip, pouting with a flourish. She looked genuinely sad and it broke her heart, "You know I hate when you lie to me, Simone, I know you think you're bein' a mama bear and keepin' me safe, but… just, please tell me?"

Siren's were going off in Simone's head. You can't just tell your best-and probably only- friend you were keeping an insane program hellbent on killing seven billion people in the basement, oh, and she attacked a cop too, there was a that… and the time she could've ratted him about but didn't.

So her intoxicated brain came up with the next best thing.

"I met someone."

Annalise's face light up like a fire cracker and Simone's stomach dropped. The woman launched herself on the other, holding her down by the shoulders, "Give me all the detail. Simone, you leave stuff out, i wanna know everything! Eye's, hair, hobbies, ideologies, give me all you got."

Blinking up at the ceiling, stunned, she extracted her head from the rolls of neck skin tried running away in, "It's uh… Complicated."

Her friend hmmed philosophical and urged her to continue. It was only vaguely surprising she didn't pull a notebook and jot down facts like it was Blue's Clues all over again, her relationships the mystery.

"We're not dating or whatever, I met the guy literally a couple months ago, it's just a weird spot you know?"

A really, really weird and totally unfair spot that made Simone want to cry, "I mean, this motherfucker thinks he knows _everything_. He's hardly even lived! He's a fuckin hypocrite too, Rocky, he wants world peace and all that dandy shit but the only way he's gonna get it is war."

She sighed, digging her palms against her temples, "He's so angry and he take it out on everyone."

"And there's nothin' good in the world he wants to keep cause he hasn't experienced jackshit yet, I think. And it's _frustrating_ 'cause it's his way or the highway an' he's just… He just… I don't know. Fuck. I don't know 'im at all. I wish I never met him."

Rocky's eyes were sad again, she hated that, "He uses people instead of seeing them. 'er Some deep Plato shit like that. Hate what you are, hate what you aren't."

"He hasn't hurt you has he?"

"No." Yes.

Leaning back the woman took in Simone's figure. She was hunched, heart beating faster than it should, and wondering how long Ellie's bathroom break needed to be. Maybe she had a bladder as tall as her, but the woman really wanted her back in the room so they could drop the conversation.

"Have you given him a chance? Tried showing him he's wrong?" The woman offered, and Simone wasn't sure, she couldn't remember, but it wasn't like he was worthy of it in the first place. He tried exterminating humanity, "Simone, look at me. No one's just bad okay? There's always good in there somewhere."

'That's the kind of thinking that fucked you over,' She thought bitterly. You don't forget four years of abusive pain, not like that, but for some reason Rock tried too. But even Annalise would agree he was bad, purely one hundred percent rotten. Maybe that was a little harsh, ninety-five, no, ninety-four percent horrible, that was better.

Annalise grabbed her shoulders, shaking them back and forth gently, "Please try? You know how many chances it took me to get better, Simone, now look who at me! I gotta dream job, a beautiful girlfriend, you."

Yeah, some prize she was, trying to emotionally manipulate a psychopath instead of do the right thing.

Wrapping her arms around her friend she held on tight, telling her she wasn't going anywhere, and praying that was true. Annalise was a blinding optimist, there was never a 'lost cause' around her, that's what drew her into social work. But Simone's intuition told her the woman wouldn't feel the same if she knew who the mystery man was. No, not even her curly hair and big smiles would be open to him, right?

They pulled apart slowly, she didn't want to say goodbye to the contact- Ultron wasn't exactly the cuddling type- and went back to the movie. Napoleon Dynamite's brother was getting married. She could probably quote the movie word for word, and drunk enough, she'd reenact it. The woman wasn't that far gone, not yet, "So, will you or El pop the question first?"

Annalise snorted, coughing up tortilla chips like a junkfood dragon and blushed, "It's way to early! I'm mean… oh my goodness, Simmy. I don't know it's just so early."

She was literally too kind, she even swore like an old lady. It was disgusting and made Simone either want to keep her safe from the world or crawl under a rock in shame. "You lived with her for a year and half."

"We went to the same college!" She protested weakly, balling up her fists, "Besides, moving back out here and stuff, I haven't even met her family! They might not like me…"

"Annalise, they'll l be all over you, shut up."

The taller woman smiled and crawled up to her, hugging her arm tightly while the film finished. Simone noticed two things: 1. She was always the shortest one in the room, and 2. She had no idea how much she missed Rocky. The woman needed this, it was grounding if anything, at least one person wouldn't hate her if the whole Ultron thing went tits up.

And then Ellie finally glided back in, fully changed into pajamas, contacts out, and hanging up her phone in the process, "Sweetie, that was your mom, she says Mr. Boogie Man's been waiting for hours now. We gotta say bye."

She leaned down and kissed Rocky's forehead while Simone helped extract the woman from the couch, smiling softly when their eyes met, "There's a snake in you're bathroom, by the way."

Simone hated snakes. If it wasn't for the fact that this was Maine in early December, she would've bombed that section of her house without a thought.

When they finally said their goodbyes and the couple's bags were safely in the car, Ellie carried the smaller woman out like a drugged and wailing koala and drove off. Leaving her to start dizzily cleaning the company's mess. Chips, salsa, Smirnoff, beer bottles, the list went on and she was pretty sure Ellie spilled her pot ashes on the rug.

It didn't take long for the living room to be in a semi presentable state...save for the half empty bottle of wine she occasionally guzzled from like a bourgeoisie pig. Life is all about choices, and boy did she make the fun ones. And her post-cleaning mentality a lot more intoxicated than the pre, just how it needed to be.

On the topic of fun, she glanced at the ever-foreboding garage door. It was like some twisted version of 'The Lion, The Witch, and Wardrobe' where instead of Narnia it led her straight into Robot Hell. And for some unknown reason that's exactly where her staggering, limping feet took her. Rocky's words echoing in her ears and the sudden bravery from liquid/plant courage coursing in her veins.

If Simone was going to have the hangover of a lifetime she might as well make it worth it, right?

Her hand pushing open the door while she screamed his name. And there he was. Glowing devil eyes and everything. Right at the bottom of the stairs, which seemed, very, very, far away. She'd stay up there, the hatch's frame was great support anyway.

Simone needed to figure out what to say, thoughts were hard to grasp. She'd do what Annalise wanted and give the guy a chance, she'd still rat him out to the avengers and make it hurt like a bitch with rabies, but who said the playing field couldn't be fair?

Besides, he wasn't that bad. Ultron could funny, or… kind of funny, and he was smart, helped her walk home one time, and he also threw her around like a toy, and broke her stuff, and was scary, and violent, with a superiority complex, outbursts, and angry… the list went on and Simone was very thankful she was way to plastered to care.

"What do you want?"

Right, robot.

"Watch a movie with me."

Simone loved movies, maybe he did too. She'd show him ones with good morals and beneficial views of humanity, like Shrek or Reservoir Dogs. Wait. No, not that one, bad movie to save humanity with.

Ultron starred at her like she just tossed her cookies all over him. She kind of wanted to, it'd be funny. She blinked back towards the A.I, realizing she missed what he said and asked, "What?"

"No."

She whined and stomped her feet. He was supposed to say yes, she couldn't make friends if they didn't hang out! She'd drag his titanium asscheeks up there by herself if she has to.

'No, don't that'll make him mad,' She thought, squinting, "Why not?"

He crossed his arms impatiently, "Because even though the smell of your discount liquor is outstanding, I have a reputation to keep."

She blinked, mouth hanging open. Not only did he imply that his robot shell could smell-which seemed not only extraordinarily excessive and wrong in general- He basically just said he was too cool for her. The only person too cool for _her_ was someone… not him, "What reputation?"

"The malevolent bad guy." He made a scat gesture, "Shoo."

"You can't do that!" She yelled, "I'm the head of this household, I pay the bills!"

Ultron groaned, rubbing his 'temples'. Did robot's even have temples? He didn't have a jaw so it wouldn't make sense, "I like you better sober and afraid."

Little did he know, she was fearless. In the first grade Simone was the first one to jump off the high dive _without_ even being dared. She was practically the baddest person on earth. So she'd prove her point by marching down and staring at the robot. Simone wanted to stare eye to eye, -or A.I to A.I... she was a riot- before demanding to watch a movie. Only, instead of the dramatic march she envisioned, she stumbled and fell.

And Ultron stepped out the way.

"Yerr the worst," She muttered, a mouth full of concrete.

"You wound me."

Simone was getting lifted, one arm under hers and another under her knees. He was carrying her, she realized. The woman smiled at him, "I take it back."

"I can still drop you."

"You're right,"She frowned, drawing her eyebrows forward and lowering her voice," Ultron, supreme leader of all evil, harbinger of death, a merciless angel of divine retribution, would never carry a drunk."

He hummed, "I'll put that on my resume."

"I can add more adjectives!" She offered, letting her spinning head fall back as the living room passed by upside down, hair spilling out behind her, "You could work anywhere, like a McDonalds or something."

Whipping up she looked him dead in the eyes, or lightbulbs, or whatever he used to see, she tried imagining him in the uniform. Better yet, on the grill flipping patties and deep frying potato strips. He wasn't nearly as scary then, she think of him like that more often.

"Yah know-" she began taking in his face skeptically, seeing every tiny scrap and scorch mark he couldn't fix. Ultron was too expressive to be so blank, no blinking his eyes, no raising a brow or smiling. It threw her off. She focused on the how the robot's red lights set a glow across the room, it reminded her of rubies, or blood,"If it's wasn' for your Messiah complex you'd be-"

She pulled a face and her thumbs up jerkily, "A-okay!"

Ignoring his disinterested hum, Simone kept going, "You know! Rocky thinks there's good in everyone, like.. literally everyone, I think you need that. To much… negative energy all up in there."

"You're deluded."

"No!" She protested, before adding proudly, " _I_ am hammered!"

"Thank you for clarifying, I had doubts." The A.I said, turning so he could fit them both through the door. He could've kept walking and smashed her legs against the door frame, she was glad he didn't.

"Go to bed, and don't choke on your puke," He said, straightening his arms so she went tumbling on the cushions. She tried yelling at him from her current position, but a pillow got in the way. "And have fun with that hangover!"

The door slammed behind him.

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 **Advice: Just because Simone is rlly stupid and gonna get alcohol poisoning and w/e take my words and don't smoke n drink in the same night u will regret it... also dont mix drinks for the love of god+drink water?**

 **Next chapter'll be very Ultron heavy done worry i cross my heart.**

 **palpablefantasy: thnk u so much u are gem that means so much!**

 **Sorana3: XOXO they r both digging their own graves trust me.**

 **Please review! It means the world thank you so, so much! and thanks for reading! xoxo**


	8. Liar, Liar, I'll Set You On Fire

**I don't think i've ever written an essay as long as this chapter jfc**

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There was something unsettling about waking up two days in a row and hearing the same story of global unrest. Bombs. Explosions scattered across the country like flicks off paint as they drew in the undivided attention of every media outlet available. News anchors clutched every morsel of information in their finally pedicured talons like vultures on a corpse. It was horrible.

Simone couldn't relax. There was a niggling in the back of her mind that the Titanium Jesus would tear down the door and blast a hole through her chest without so much as an 'It's been real.' His job was over, her basement served its purpose, and the apocalypse was nigh.

But she wasn't the only one avoiding the other drone did nothing but meander through the woods with that same blue tarp. That same blue tarp that Simone wanted to burn like a soiled flag, all while Ultron stayed in his cave. Shocker.

It was driving her insane, especially after one regretful YahooAnswer saying people can actually _die_ from stress. Now she found herself not only pointedly ignoring that color of broken blood vessels around her neck, but checking her hairline for premature greying. Simone even thought about sticking her arm through the bacteria laden cushion of a blood pressure cuff to see if there was heart attack in her future. She never trusted those, Annalise got her her arms stuck in one when they were 11, the pair steered clear of the Walmart pharmacy after that.

But Ultron wasn't something she could avoid like medical equipment, not that she didn't try. The woman thought her battered body had recovered enough to try her half-price yoga tapes for the first time in months. Her hip kept popping some around invisible bubble whenever she bent down, and the canvas of bruises across her shoulders made even a Cobra pose impossible. Life was decidedly horrible.

So she sat in the middle of the chaotic living room, legs cross over her Spongebob yoga mat and 8lb dumbbells on either side. Simone thought about cracking out the burgundy wine and truly embracing the lonely housewife lifestyle she oozed like BO. She only needed three monstrous children and to lust after kitchenware at target and it'd be official.

The woman realized she only needed the kids. She bought three new salad spoons on her last grocery run and kept staring at cutting boards whenever she walked by.

She couldn't do it. No matter how hard Simone tried to stick her metaphorical thumb in front of the prodigal son in her basement, he just moved.

"Give him a chance," Simone mocked in a nasally voice, wrinkling her nose, "You know how many it took me!"

"You're not a fucking robot, Annalise," She pulled herself up slowly like a vengeful grandmother and stalked to the bedroom, an idea for the Ultron problem had rooted in her mind. In all likely hood it was a recipe to get her killed, not that living in the same house wasn't already, she sighed, cursing her friend one last time. As good as her intentions were, the situation was in no way 'd try to get him out, no violence, no yelling, just something cathartic for them both:  
A walk.  
Looking through the closet she had to find something to wear for the frigid weather. Winter clothes were never a preference of Simone's, clunky baggy pieces of fabric meant to keep out a bitting chill than look faintly presentable. The palm leaf jacket that had been dubbed a favorite for three years was still drying over a shower curtain. It crippled her aesthetic.

She'd live with her hand-me-down snow coat and sweatpants, especially because of the pocket lining it's interior. The woman shuffled to the cluttered bed stand and tucked her taser safely in the downy jacket.

"I hate that bitch," Simone sighed, closing the door behind her and 'casually' walking to the basement. It'd be good to keep in mind that the woman's version of nonchalance was akin to staring at the splotchy walls like they had an answer to life's biggest questions. They didn't. Simone had passively hopped the plaster would explain in 12 point font, double spaced, and MLA format citations why she was putting herself in the firing line of the A.I's instability.

So far the only answer was a sickening wave of nausea and the flight part of her 'fight-or-flight' instincts.

Simone whimpered at the hatch five feet in front of her. The electrical gun weighing down her side in anticipation as her fingertips buzzed. She couldn't do this. His reasons for carrying her inebriated blob of a body to bed were opaque. Just like their relationship. She didn't know what he wanted besides some unholy retribution on her kind. For all she knew Ultron thought her slimy human nature was trying to get on his good side so she could pop a squat in his version of Noah's Ark.

Trying to bond with the megalomaniac version of Siri on steroids wasn't in her pay-grade anyway; not that she even had one.

Conversation could happen later, she decided. The chances of him even agreeing to go outside with were slim to none. Simone would rather go to bed knowing he wasn't about to make a robotic reenactment of Nightmare on Elm Street when the woman slept. Freddy Kruger could stay fictional, and she really didn't want to see knives strapped to his fingers anyway. Ultron was already a bipolar menace without help. Just ask her menagerie of wounds.

She exhaled, her lungs shaking as the anxiety inside them blocked air from leaving, and turned away from the basement hatch. Massaging her palms, Simone breathed in slowly through her nose, eyelids fluttering shut as she tried to calm down. She wouldn't hurl again, not today.

"SIMONE."

She'd never jumped so high in her life.

With Her heart roaring and a bolt of numb fire shooting up her spine, she heaved a staggered just of air from her lungs and rested on her knees. Oh, and she screamed like a knife was plunged in her side.

Thankfully, there wasn't one, just Ultron standing behind her. And even though the blank slate of a face couldn't show conventional emotion, she swore he looked like he was about to bust his iron platted chops laughing.

"I called your name five times." He complained, shifting his weight from one foot to the next.

"You gave me a heart attack!" Simone wheezed, clutching her sternum like said organ was about to shoot from her chest. There was no way breathing this fast was healthy and her head felt dizzy again. 'In through your nose out through your mouth,' she coached, 'Chill out.'

"I'd say you must've been busy up there," He said, gesturing to her head, "But…"

"Oh you're hilarious," Simone panted, the A.I could imply she was a simpleton all he wanted, she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of being outwardly offended.

"It's one of my winning features."

She straightened, rising from the knees up as he spoke, "What do you want?"

"Who said I want anything?" She blurted defensively, "What if I just wanna enjoy the view?"

There was no view. Just an A.I and dusty cement room with the random garbage she refused to throw away because of 'memories'.

She sighed, tact was never a talent of hers. The woman rubbed a hand across her face, "It's nothing. Just forget I was even here."

"It'll be pestering me all day, spit it out" He paused, "Don't actually spit, I know you will."

Her original plan came to mind. But now it just seemed… stupid, an idiotic idea meant to make either party angry. Ultron would either get off on a tangent of how her species was a blight on the world or she'd trip on her words and piss him off. At the same time, she realized, it would be a perfect test, and she had the taser.

She'd do it. She'd have to lie to get him out, but a promise is a promise, especially one to Annalise. Swallowing the anticipation boiling on her tongue, Simone spouted the first thing that came to mind.

"I've got something to show you."

Her consciousness was screaming to develop the low quality lie. She was already off to bad start.

Ultron shifted, he seemed genuinely interested now. So besides being as unstable as a fault line, he was curious, or eager to learn… maybe; she hoped so, "That's vague."

"There won't be any cops," Simone offered, realizing that would just make the A.I more suspicious, "It's twenty minutes out, okay?"

'develop it, moron', the woman told herself, 'He won't come unless there's a gain.' She racked her mind for something he needed. Illegal robot's don't exactly get any letters. It dawned on her: tech, "An old couple croaked a few days ago, they're selling stuff."

"Can't you disrespect the deceased by yourself?" Ultron sighed, disappointed by her reveal.

"Look, you come back with electrical crap every day, and they're selling a _lot_ ," Simone insisted, "I'm just trying to help, you can hid behind something and I'll buy what you want."

He looked her up and down, she hated when he did that. It made the woman feel like she was being used to form the cookie cutter template he'd inflict on all humanity. She didn't want to be responsible for giving the human race a substandard expectation. She hated his silence even more.

"Alright, you little heathen, we'll go." He said walking past her with arms swinging. The A.I was 5'10 at the least, but he walked with a weight far greater. It was terrifying and made her feel uncomfortably light. It wasn't a physical power, or an active one. It was potential, which in her option was much more.

She trotted after him as he made his way through the house and to the front door, letting it slam in her face. Simone stumbled, barely catching the offensive wood before it cracked her nose in her shocked stupor. The woman hadn't expected him to agreed, and she really wished he hadn't, all the bravery she felt when weaving the lie was gone. Dread and apprehension were the only things left.

Ultron hardly waited before cutting to chase, not that he even bothered to gage her for expression. The A.I kept his sights forward with the metal feet entering silently into the packed snow. He was having a much easier time walking than her.

"Why are you helping me?"

Simone shrugged, she didn't have the energy, or the guts, to lie to him again. At this point it was more of a 'how can I lessen the beating ahead' kind of conversation, "I made a promise."

"Ah, right, cute little sentiments and empty words, how touching." He said idly, looking towards the white capped trees with rapt attention, "…It was towards that Annabelle woman, wasn't it?

"You know her name, don't fake it," She sighed, he was a super computer, he probably already knew her blood type and BMI from a first glance, "But basically, yeah."

She barley her the mummer of a question that left him, she asked him to repeat, "What was it?"

"To give you a chance."

Silence, again. The woman kept her eyes low, catching the him looking at her in what she hopped was surprised. If she was lucky, he'd think the whole thing was just a test, to see how volatile he was. Better yet, the woman could say she wanted to know if he'd react like a human, that'd make Ultron go high and might without a doubt.

"Simone!" He yelled.

"What?" She blinked at him. The woman knew for a fact she hadn't done anything wrong yet.

"Took you four times."

She gave him a flat expression, "You broke my good aids."

"Mature, blame it on me."

"It was your greasy digits that knocked me flat.  
"Who had the bat again?" He reminded her, cocking his head to side innocently.

Simone rolled her eyes, ignoring him when he told the woman they'd get stuck like that. Almost saying a bland 'thanks mom' at his nitpicking. Ultron was going specifically out of his way to be annoying, apparently.  
"Your race is full people like you," He stated. Oh, there was no doubt he was trying to be outlandishly annoying, and Simone wouldn't let him. Not without returning the treatment.

"Beautiful and talented with brilliant personalities?"

He snorted, "Cowards and Brutes."

"Well, what came first the chicken or the dickhead," She mused, arms cross behind the back of her head. It made her look comfortable, but the her stuttering heart needed an open airway so the woman didn't suffocate. It was a multifunctional pose.

"My vote's on the bird."

"But that'd make me a dickhead." Simone said, glancing at the A.I from her peripheral. Whatever casual facade he had was about as convincing as hers. He was staring at the trees like an Art Major in the MoMA instead of a bunch of plants. It was a small comfort.

Ultron hummed, crossing his arms behind the small of his back, "You're right, you're definitely the chicken. Dickheads came first."

She wasn't going to let that stand, pride be damned.

"Well, I am older than you," The woman pointed out, as she focused on matching the heels of her shoes to the toe with every step, "Chickens are the mother race."

"Now you're just being rude."

She shrugged, an almost invisible gracing the corners of her lips and guided her path a few sacred feet farther from him. Space would give Simone the precious few seconds necessary to grab her weapon, jump out of the way, or anything else to avoid an Ultron related injury. It didn't matter how casual the conversation seemed, there was this hidden energy dancing underneath his presence like static that kept her on edge.

"How old are you anyways?" She asked.

"Mentally or physically?"

The woman gave him a withering glance. If he didn't have to ability to tenderize her brain like a sirloin steak,Simone would've called him out on the 'I swear I, the super advanced computer person, have no idea what you mean' act. She liked her head the way it was, not medium-rare and on a fancy platter, "Actual time."

"Mm, a couple months, give or take?" He said, ball-parking the answer.

Simone didn't try to hide her blatant 'are you fucking kidding me' expression, "Are you for real right now? Because honest to God I can't tell sometimes."

The A.I shrugged, strolling through the snow with a nonchalance that made it seem like she was overreacting. She wasn't. Three months old meant still sucking on milk because anything above the consistency of broccoli paste or water could kick a baby's ass, "49 days, 12 hours, 53 minutes, and 17 no, 18, 20, seconds old."

There wasn't anything she could really say to that.

"I was an early bloomer."

"It…. That's not even a couple months! That's one and a week," Her hands reached up and clutched the knit hat covering her frosted hair, "I feel like I should enforce a bedtime or something."

She almost made the mistake of saying his parents must be proud, being born and trying to make a rerun of the Jurassic Era a few hours later. Her tongue held back, thankfully, the comment was definitely too close to the taboo topic of Tony Stark and his merry band of misfits.

A merry band of extremely deadly, rich, government supported misfits that were all surreally pretty, Simone reprimanded… And who were all going to be very, very mad at her when this was over. That was almost more terrifying than the A.I, almost.

His short laugh almost missed her ears, the wool was making it harder than she liked to make out his words, not that it wasn't already difficult. The hearing aids synthesized voices as a given, but his already sounded like it was going through one of those cheap voice mixers that came with Happy Meals. She briefly wished he had lips to read, or could sign.

Then she remembered he was literally the global online data base for a solid 72 hours.

"Can you sign?"

The A.I looked at her with a jerky movement. Surprised, she realized, he hadn't expected her question. It was a little satisfying to the woman.

"No." He said, the tone decidedly empty. Simone didn't know why, normally he had no problem showing what he passed off a feelings. 'Embarrassment, maybe?' she thought, "Why are you asking?"

"Just curious," Simone answered, and then noticed the opportunity in front of her. The A.I liked to learn, he asked questions, he downloaded a good chunk of every horrible aspect in human history. Even when they just stood listening to music in her office he'd ask about the artists or what she was working on. It ended up with her googling most of the answers and him getting frustrated and snapping at her.

It dawned on her that it was caused by frustration. He was born with everything at his finger tips and now it wasn't there anymore. He relied on _her_ for information, even if it was for just a few moments. Thanks Vision, now he's indignant.

'Spoiled asshole,' she thought sourly.

"I've got a couple books from when I was kid, if you're ever of bored kicking puppies or pushing over old people, I'll get them for you."

"Why?"

The woman looked at Ultron again. She found out very quickly she very much preferred his tone laced with emotion rather than being empty. It made her tense, like she was waiting for him to snap, and in turn, snap her, "Why not?"

"Don't be coy, it's unappealing," He bit. Alright, anger, not exactly her favorite emotion.

"Don't be cynical, it's unappealing."

She started walking faster, the pounding in her heart and clammy feeling in her palms returned at the impulsive slip. Praying whatever damage she did by smartassing the real life Astro Boy wasn't worthy of another chokehold.

He muttered something, but strangely enough it didn't sound upset, furious, or any tasteful variation of the two. Going back to a more normal(and sustainable) pace, she shoved her hands deep in the coat's pockets, "What?"

Simone really hoped whatever her fingers brushed against wasn't a half eaten fiber bar.

"Touche."

Turns out it wasn't just a half eaten fiber bar, it was also moldy. She chucked it from her pocket without so much as a word or hesitation, only the urge to wash her hands in snow or sauté them in germ-x.

"They're there if you want them." She offered on last time.

Ultron made some idle joke about a grenade which she didn't pay attention too. The woman was far more interested in the mailbox rapidly approaching. Simone never wanted to be buried and let her body be slowly digested by squirming maggots and fungus. Not to mention paying for a fancy rock over a rotting carcass seemed pointless. She wanted to be cremated and sit in an urn for a couple decades until a descendent knocked it over and sent the ashes into the carpet. The closer she got, however, the more that mailbox was starting to look like a gravestone.

She had 20 meters tops.

Her throat quivered and a cool sweat began beading on her brow. With every crunching and drawn out step the familiar numbness and bile rose in the back on her jaw. Simone made no illusions that she would be outrun the A.I, it was impossible. He was steel and electricity, she was tiring, breaking flesh and bone. The sharp ache in her foot and hip was a flea in ear reminder that stamina wasn't a personal strength either.

5 meters now.

Twitching fingers danced across the collar of her jacket and grabbed the tiny metal zipper. Dragging open the thick coat, she prayed Ultron would associate her panting spurts of air as being hot or exhausted. She was neither.

Her mind relayed the world around her in piercing clarity. She was forced to squint her eyes against the blinding snow, crisp and shinning from the Microscopic army of snowflakes reflected a dizzying rainbow of colors, she never really needed sunglasses, her eyes were blissfully dark, but right now it'd be a small luxury.

A frigid wind forced against her body, devouring any warmth that might've lingered. She crossed her arms defensively, right hand ready to spring down and snatch the taser. The mailbox was a few meager feet away. She really, genuinely, hated the situations she put herself in.

1 foot.

Well, as her great aunt always said, 'To shit hell with life.'

Simone loved her great aunt.

"There isn't a garage sale."

"I know."

She balked. Shuffling to a stop like she was flashed, and blurted, "What?"

Ultron turned to face her lazily, like he'd been waiting the entire time for the reveal. Why wasn't he mad? She was caught red handed lying to him, the guy practically fabricated reasons to make her out to a bad person and break a few bones, and now he _had one_ and wasn't doing anything? Simone didn't know if she was angry or relieved. Rage was more likely to have a bad outcome, she'd stay with the latter.

"I'm starting to think that's your favorite word," He complained, letting his head fall to side. He was acting bored, of all things. Simone had to remind herself to keep it together as frustration started bubbling beneath the surface.

"How'd you know?" She asked, "Better yet, why come?"

"Good to know you're asking the hard questions." He said, pulling open the mailbox and extracting the packages inside, "It lets me know your brain's still functioning."

She didn't say anything and he did the 'stop being a killjoy' sigh he loved so much.

"The drone does go places besides grandmother's house, you know, " He said, throwing her a box, "That was a joke, I don't like old people."

Great. Ultron, Humanity's Parole Officer, knew about Red Ridding Hood but not sign language. Typical.

"I think the sense of entitlement and racist, amoral values is charming," She said. Not to mention the small things like forgetting who you are, skin deflating like a balloon, oh, and the never ending judgment when your grandkid's almost 30 and still single, that one was her favorite, "That was a joke, I don't like old people."

"God have mercy, you're hilarious."

She grinned, looking down at the cardboard parasol and identifying it as the soap she bought a few weeks back, "It's one of my winning features."

"Now you're just being unoriginal."

"Heathen."

"Ha. Ha." He set her papers on top of the tin box and Simone was grateful, she didn't want to take anything out of his hand. Getting within three feet alone was a stretch, and a risk she'd rather not take. Then she remembered one of the two questions had been left unanswered. He didn't want to spill, she realized, the robot tried distracting her.

"You still haven't told me why you came."

He sighed, "Why are you so _breathtakingly_ persistent? It's one of your defining traits."

Simone caught herself staring at his hands flapping around as he emphasized his point. Someone was definitely a hand talker, "It's probably a human thing…besides the petty wars and murder."

She blinked at him. Ultron was trying to distract her, squirming like a child caught elbow deep in the cookie jar. It was liberating to some extent, seeing as their positions were usually in reverse, "I mean, you can call World War II petty, but that's still not what I asked."

"Isn't it though?"

"60 million people are dead, lowest estimate, so no, not _really_ a low-key thing." She said, shoving the bills and advertisements in her pocket, the soap in her fist like a dagger. This was dangerous ground, Simone knew it, and while the chances of someone driving by and finding her bleeding corpse three days later were much more likely than at home, it'd be nice to avoid regardless.

"That's disgusting," He spat. "I don't understand your unwavering devotion to some-"

He waved his hand, trying to find the words, "-Some false ideal of 'hope' your species never had. It's wasteful, and cruel."

'And you're not?' Her mind screamed, 'Killing seven billion people isn't wasteful to you?'

Simone could be a lot of things: a coward, protective, annoying, asshole, lazy, and probably the most unlucky human being to exist besides Sean Bean in movies(but at least she hadn't made a reputation out of dying. Yet.), but she wasn't an idiot. Ultron wouldn't distract her, it was her turn to get an answer.

"You're avoiding still."

Simone decided she'd never pick him to play dodge ball, he'd stand there and take it to the face.

"Fine," He relented, slamming the mail flap shut hard enough to dent. She couldn't hid her flinch, "I wanted to see what you'd do."

"Did I live up to you're expectations?" She said, not bothering to hid the tint of anger in her voice. He, of all people/robot/things had no right to judge her. Simone hadn't done anything wrong, hell, she's the one helping him.

"I'm not sure yet."

He turned back and starting walking home. A long package bouncing against his hip. Her first thought was to start locking her office from the inside so he couldn't order anything else, and Simone knew better than to wonder what was inside. The second thing was she wasn't sure about him yet either.

Zipping up her coat, the woman followed a safe 10 feet behind and watched. Her eyes trained on the robot like a hawk. Ultron's reactions were never what she expected. It grated against the bone of her skull like nails on a chalkboard.

Was she safe? Would he hurt her again? When would her usefulness and the toleration for her temperance wear thin? It was going to make her crazy, fray out her brain as she over-analyzed every possible reaction he'd have till she finally sputtered out and had an aneurism.

But something seemed wrong, something inexplicable and minuet that she couldn't place a finger on. All she could suggest to the impression was that Ultron was malfunctioning. It would make sense, all things considered. He was supposed to protect the world, keep it safe and from harm and suffering. God only knew how much that encompassed the tiny speck of dirt hurling through space.

Maybe it was stress, she thought, stepping over a mound of ice the plow trucks had dislodged. Maybe he was overwhelmed by the number of issue's, sprouting across the planet like zits on a teenagers face.

That was mildly depressing, she didn't want to think of it like that. Simone'd rather him just be batshit crazy. His mind like a gnarled, twisted vine, spreading and chocking, killing everything around it in the struggle to accomplish its ordained purpose. But Ultron wasn't a vine, his reason for existing wasn't just to live, in fact, she didn't think that was even part of it. He was meant to be a shield, a smart, invincible shield.

Instead he was a weapon.

Or that's what she thought.

But the more she was around him, the more she talked to him, the more uncomfortably alive he felt. She didn't like it. Simone wished he was emotionless. She wished the way he walked wasn't fluid but choppy and stiff. She wished his voice didn't hold any sound of emotion. She wished he didn't gesticulate, sigh, groan, or any of the painfully human mannerisms he adopted and just operated in normal parameters. She wished he was just a machine.

She wished Ultron wasn't so irrevocably _broken_.

Apparently she wasn't the only one shattering expectations.

* * *

 **Don't worry im not gonna make ultron some like... lost cat w/ a broken leg and have Vision or tony or whoever fix him. Simone's just like? I dont understand u? explain please?sir?**

 **Miradae: THNK U! HOly shit i cry! Boy do i cry! :'O They'll be interacting more and more w/ each chapter so get ready 4 the storm b/c it's big. Good luck w/ ur coursework and thank u so much! Ur amazing!**

 **ObsidianPhantom; ThANK YOU! thank you so much!**

 **2cute4U: I promise ur not weird, the thirst is real. and THANK U so MUCH MVP man that's you im so, so glad u like Simone! Thank you so much!**

 **Sorana3: U called it ten miles away lmao.**

 **SarQ: Thank u! so much! And no ur right that parts a little weird, and ur english is great dude! i'll go back and fix it when i have the time! !Thank you!**

 **LVWOL: Imma say right now now ur review changed my life ... like i seriously can'tthank u enough u got this whale of a chapter done. and im so SO SO glad u like it :'OOO there r real tears man. And don't worry this burn is fucking slow b/c they are both assholes lmao. nuts and bolts. ur the love of my life rn im srs THANK U SO MUCH.**

 **As always i'd really appreciate a review this chapter took literally forever and i'd love 2 know what u think! XOXO thank you!**


	9. Role Reversal and Ultron's Guts

**This chapter was a bitch to write, there r more drawings on my profile tho B^) of Ultron and the baby girl.**

* * *

Dark.

Hot.

Two never-ending ending factors in the inky web of unyielding blackness around her. Her skin was slick with sweat, salty water that stung her eyes and clung to her like moss. There was no end, just dark, no wind, no smell, not taste, no nothing. The chapped, cracking texture of her lips pulled against something as she tried to speak. 17 stabbing lines of pain roared to life along her mouth.

Staples. The woman's jaw was held together by string-thing wisps of metal as her fingers brushed against them. The scabs had open, flood gates to blood and puss that trickled warmly down her chin.

But she was calm. Like the reality of her current position was something she already acclimated too. Like a frog in slow boiling water unaware of the agonizing change around them until it was to late. Broiled till their intestines harden and heart stops pumping, their life rising to the water's surface guided by the platoon of frenzied bubbles.

A light.

Glowing red, crimson like fireworks in the dark of night. The scent of popcorn and hot dogs, the sound of children and parents in awe and wonder never came. Just fear. The shards rushing towards the woman as she writhed, trying to run, to escape but there was no ground beneath her feet. The earth left, just like everything but the void of black.

Pain, again. Burning, pulling the meat of her back free from the xylophone of bones compiling her ribs. Hooks. The woman was hung like a butcher's pig. Waiting for the furious trailing sparks of light to reach her. She thrashed, skin ripping like a tablecloth till her weight was to great and fell.

A stuffed sobbed left the woman as she tumble through the emptiness. There was no wind, just the vertigo as gravity clung to her by the ankles like prison chains. The red followed. Teeth. 6 sets of of jagged crystals with spit, red hot like magma dripping from their maws.

When she stopped it wasn't because the blackness ended, but because she was caught. Like a convict in cuffs, two colossal metal hands of worn, rusting steel wrapped around her arms. Clenching, burning, she could feel their imprint digging in and leaving their mark like a brand. The sets of shattered jaws stopped. They met her in the dark where she writhed against the ten immovable fingers, and bit.

Sinking the melting, spinal teeth into the muscle of her forearms and _pulling_. The skin of her face fraying apart as she tore past the staples, an agonizing scream finally breaking free. Blood and black tar streamed from her mouth, she chocked, gagging on the poison. Another bite. Another scream. The saliva burned, contaminating her body wherever it touch. She saw the white of her bones in the delta of decay it left.

She didn't have time to cry before it went for her head.

Cold.

Light.

Simone woke with a shout. The flashing whites of her eyes searched wildly across the room for her monster. She found a trashcan instead. Crawling with sprawled limbs she reached for the plastic bin before the numbness jumped from her throat, and heaved. A cool sweat across her body as she shook. The echo's of pain lingered against her back and arms.

Her head stayed in the trash, shoulders quaking as her breathing stuttered back to normal. Never in her life had she had a nightmare like that. Maybe once or twice when she was twelve, but never one that left her reeling like she had one too many turns on the merry-go-round.

Then she spotted a pair of silver feet.

Ultron.

She groaned, shoving the container away and swiping a forearm across her mouth. The crimson teeth flashed before eyes, five inches deep in the same flesh. She shuddered, and smacked her hand on top of the wooden bed stand, dragging the hearing aids down with it. She popped them in, turned them on, and let her back fall against the side of her bed as she eyed the robot. A thick blanket was beneath him. He woke her up.

"Good morning?"

"The best." Her chest still lifted up and down a little harder than she would've liked, "You don't dream, do you?"

He hummed, leaning against the doorframe. Ultron hadn't bothered to turn on the bedroom lights, but the hall illuminated behind him. "Occasionally a memory will rear its ugly head during a defrag, but no, can't say I'm envious."

"Lucky." She said, her skull clunking against the mattress. As much as Simone valued and enjoyed sleep, the chance to never have another nightmare or awkward raunchy dream was extremely appealing. Plus, she could bing watch any show she wanted without stopping. Hello, Breaking Bad.

"If that's over with, I did come up here for something."

Of course, nothing was out of the kindness of his… heart? Engine? Simone didn't know, it was too early to think of Tin Man anatomy.

"What'd you want," The woman didn't have the energy make it sound like a question over a demand. Ultron was being high maintenance way before he should be legally allowed too. The woman made a point not to 'start' her day till well after 11:30, and a quick glance at the clock said she still had another 3 hours.

"There's a delivery in your P.O box." He said, starting to turn away, "And as charming as I am, I don't think I'll be received well in public."

She groaned again. Flipping over on her stomach and pulling herself back to bed and whinned, "Why now?"

"I'm impatient," He stated, walking away, "The cab's outside, and the meter's running."

Well if that didn't get her up nothing would.

Simone fell out of bed and staggered to her feet. Regardless of the nightmare, her body was still lost in the fog of early morning drowsiness, meaning coordination wasn't available at the moment. So she teetered with a renewed sense of urgency to the her closet, silently mournful that she didn't have more time. Simone would've liked the rare opportunity to make herself presentable, besides a sweatshirt and leggings, maybe some mascara or foundation.

But apparently an estimated 350l pounds of over-entitled metal had another idea.

Rubbing off the nighttime crust of dried tears around her eyes, the woman shoved a toothbrush in her mouth and scrubbed furiously. Simone thought about charging the robot and spraying him with Winter Fresh, but stuck to dumping it in the sink instead. Dying before 9 o'clock would be one hell of way to start the day.

Her mother would do this kind of thing. Signing her up for something and tell her about it when it was too late to back out. Incidentally, that ended up landing her a lifeguard job. She hated it, kids kept crapping in the chlorine and no one else would clean it up. But least she was employed, an innocent 16 year old in the capitalist machine, slaving away at minimum wage.

Tugging at the scarf wrapped around her neck like an anaconda, Simone shuffled outside, passively acknowledging the patio needed to be shoveled. She blinked, taken aback by the onslaught of light reflecting from the snow and waxing sun. She didn't give a damn how 'pretty and serene' sunrises were, all the peachy tones accomplished was fueling her bad mood. Thoughts of going back to bed and actually getting some sleep ruled her mind as she crashed into the taxi.

It was significantly darker in the cab, save for the tiny green lights taunted her with the growing pay-fair. Simone sighed, if she was going to be Ultron's errand girl she might as well enjoy it, "Do you now where M6 is?"

The look she received from the man made her wither, "Lady, what's my job?"

"Right, okay, my bad," She muttered. propping up an elbow and placing her chin in the palm of her hand. Of all the cab drivers in Maine, WALL-E Gone Wrong managed to get the mean one, just her luck.

The only sound between the two of them was a radio, the faint mummer of rolling static filling the gap neither wanted cross. She was content with that, normally Simone wasn't the person to talk with strangers by impulse, but then three little words hit her like darts.

"Hey, can you turn it up?" She asked, shifting her position to lean closer to the decrepit machine.

Bombings in Vermont.

The frail lilting voice of the radio-woman described in vivid detail the plumes of smoke towering in the winter sky, the fire consuming itself in a vain attempt to stay alight. The screams, red splatters of blood without an owner, how ash melded into the snow as a stunned silence echoed through the town. The only timber to break to break the mournful quite was the waving wails of ambulances and moans of agony and loss. It was a science center, an amalgamation of some of the world's best forward thinking individuals. All their hard words, most of their lives, consumed in over a few thousand degrees of spontaneous heat.

And then Simone made a connection: they were moving northward.

Closer to Ultron.

She forced her throat to swallow a blob anxiety broiling inside its confines. The explosion had nothing to do with him, there was no way. His drone operated on foot, and he didn't have internet access, or, well, that's what the A.I told her. The world thought Ultron was dead, except for her. He wouldn't be stupid enough to throw that away. Unless the drone was spotted. Rust-for-Brains nearly got into fisticuffs with the police on his first excursion, it was suddenly a very real possibility.

'Paranoia, Simone, you're over thinking,' She sighed, rubbing the tingling away from her palms.

"I think it's that robot." The cabby stated, his raspy voice held the tell tale signs of a packet of Marlboro's fifteen minutes before work. Not that the nicotine stench didn't give it away in the beginning, "You know, the one that hit Russia?"

Simone really wished he stayed silent, that was not helping her mental state, "Didn't the Avengers kill him?"

" _It_ could've escaped. Look, lady, I don't know if you've owned a TV over the past four years but this ain't nothin' new." He stopped to cough, not bothering to catch it his elbow. Simone was about two minutes away from cracking a window, "The blondie, General Freedom or whatever, 'e was frozen for years. Then, pop, unfroze him like a rotisserie chicken."

"It could be HYDRA?" She offered weakly.

"Could be my Ex-wife, too, doesn't mean it is."

Simone frowned. It didn't make sense, not even she knew how Ultron made it out alive, but there was full evidence he'd been eviscerated, defenestrated, decapitated, or any other delightful way of saying permanently silenced, "Why not?"

"It ain't their style. Settin' off bombs and stealin' from schools? That's gatherin', tryna build something, and if you ask me," The driver said, raising a finger from the wheel, "It's tryna hide a trail."

He reminded her of Santa. A sheared, bitter, surly Santa with yellow fingernails and tobacco in his teeth.

"All that government smuck with the lyin' and assassinations? _That's_ HYDRA, hell, I wouldn't doubt it if they got congress in the locks."

Humming, Simone nodded, she didn't know if this guy was just really with it or read way to many Illuminati forums. She prayed it was forums.

"They're thinkin' 'bout proppin' up that robot in a museum, I heard," He blathered. Simone could see the cafe from her seat, and she couldn't wait. The sooner she got out of the car the better.

Nothing would piss of Ultron more than being a human tourist attraction. He'd bitch about grubby kids wearing down his alloys or something… Or barbarism, either worked, "I said no way, that's just beggin' for it to fly on down and drop nukes on us all. Then I said, that's just bad karma, gonna jinx the whole goddamn world."

"Fascinating," She muttered idly, far to interested in the idea of busting the her head through the glass as a last ditch escape effort. The woman did not want to think about robot taxidermy, especially if said robot lived with her.

They pulled to a stop and not soon enough, Simone shoved whatever cash she had on hand through the plastic slit and thrust open her door, "Keep the change!"

Jumping over a puddle of sludge, she was definitely to unnerved by the conversation to enjoy just a cup of coffee. A coffee and muffin it was, or sugarloaf. Tugging passively at her scarf, she glanced over the menu, it'd been forever since she'd been, well, out. Talk about turning into a hermit, maybe she could sign up for friendship version of OkCupid.

The woman stopped herself there. If that wasn't radiating existential crisis, she didn't know what was.

Ordering, she glanced around the cafe. Its lingering sent of roasted beans and amber ambiance almost set a smile to her face. She missed the tiny store, when the weather was pleasant she'd pack up her laptop and work from here. Unfortunately, winter was a frigid bitch, literally, and made working from home the easiest option.

Not much had changed since September. The light's were new, she noted, draping wires and 8watts stuffed in jars. It was all very Pintrist-esque, but the design graduate inside her had to appreciate the thanked the barrista and sat down, tucking away in the corner just to watch from the secluded perch. Her life got lonely, not that she did anything about it, but the opportunity just to see other people was a relief, even if their wasn't a conversation.

"Hey, Simone, right?" A man ambled forward, flashing his shinning donkey teeth in a… attempted smile. He looked like his mom dressed him through high school and never tried to learn how himself. Even the socks and sweater had the same pattern, "I'm Chad, we, uh, well we went to college together?"

Chad…She didn't remember him, but the name was surprisingly 'fratboy' over 'chess club marshmallow'. Simone almost asked him to fight just to see if she could knock him out in under five seconds and get some lunch money.

"Is that a statement or a question?," she teased, taking his hand. He was tall, gangly, as in an unfair foot and a half above her.

"Statement! Statement!" He laughed nervously. Her arm was going to fall off at the rate he was going, "I was in a different department than you, but, uh, we went to a party once. You spilled beer on me?"

That sounded like something she'd do, but there still wasn't a memory behind it. Maybe it'd be better just to tell the poor guy she didn't remember? Hopefully he'd get the hint and bug out. She completely missed his sentence.

"Could you repeat that?," She asked, tapping her hearing aid softly, "Sorry."

"Oh! No,no,no! my bad, my bad!"

Alright he was getting a little pathetic, and annoying.

"It's fine, promise." She stole a glance around the room, trying to fabricate an excuse to leave. He wasn't rude, or mean, just… forcing the meeting to happen. Usually people go out of their way to avoid school memories, not jump at the chance to relive them. She wrapped her fingers around the paper cup of her drink, pursed her lips and blew, "Who held the shindig?"

"Oh! Um, Georgiana Louis, I think?" She really didn't find the awkward neck scratch endearing. If Chad wasn't ready for some back and forth questions he shouldn't of charged up like a lanky buffalo.

Wait, she knew George.

"No shit? Yeah, she was down the hall from me. She still dating Lucy?"

He laughed again, avoiding eye contact. Chad was acting like she was a heavy weight champion not a someone who barely passed 5 foot and dressed like a highschooler. He pulled out the seat across from her, asking to sit down. The woman nodded, there was no point in being an asshole if that's what she'd go home too, a little good zen never hurt.

"Actually Alex now, transitioned four years ago. They're married."

Simone didn't hide her surprised expression, "Really? Good for him."

"Yeah, everyone's moved on to bigger things now, entering the economy, carving out a path for themselves. It's pretty great."

The woman nodded, she was definitely associated with bigger things now, or at least a bigger someone, "What about you, big plans? A special someone?"

She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively over the cup's lid. Chad smiled sheepishly, and she started having seconds thoughts on playing nice, "Yes to the big plans, I, uh, jumped on an underground law firm, all about big social change and the radical things like civil rest over unrest."

Ultron made sure she knew all about radical ideas, there was no way anything Chad had going on was that intense. She was still glad for him, at least someone had their life in order. Simone still yelled at cartoons and ate all the M&M's out of trail mix.

"As for a special someone, well," Cue immediate regret,"I'd ask if we could grab a coffee, but, um, looks like you've already got that covered."

Oh, good, he was a comedian. Simone wanted out immediately, her abrasive sense of humor was enough for three people already. She really, really, didn't want to add in his wet noodle jokes to her life.

Maybe 'accidentally' spilling coffee on his sweater vest? It was a crime anyway, baby blue was not his color. Then again that' would be a little to close to 'flirting' or 'getting an excuse to rub her thirsty single woman hands all over him'. Not that she'd actually do it, the idea was to drip and dash.

"I have company, actually, I've got to get home pretty soon." She smiled, bagging her pastry and rising from the plush seat, "Maybe some other time, though?"

She really had to stop using Ultron as an excuse, first Annalise now this poor sucker.

"Maybe I can get your number instead?"

That sounded like a goodbye, internally she was running victory laps, "Sure, if you want beer on your cashmere again, just give me a buzz."

Taking the pen he offered, she scrawled down the series of digits without a thought, and left, giving him a small wave. He returned it enthusiastically. She cringed, and ducked through the glass doors.

'I'm around Ultron to much,' She thought, unwrapping the croissant and taking an impressive bite. She was always a little dodgy with strangers, but that was just sad, Chad hadn't even _done_ anything. He was just… awkward, that or she was confrontational.

Sighing as an obnoxious beep alerted everyone of her presence when the post office door dragged open. The woman was just thankful no one tried to hold a conversation with her. It was a feeling that could only be measured by the words she didn't speak and signed off on the small package wordlessly.

Jostling the paper bundle, it had to be at least 10lbs, and it was only a little larger than her hand. But it wasn't her business, as long as didn't crack a bookcase over head, life was good and ignorance was bliss.

So she left, calling a cab via payphone and making a point to pretend she was asleep the whole ride back. Not that she wasn't close to conking out against the carpet interior, she just couldn't relax with the a stranger driving her fatigued body around. The woman tabbed that on bing watching Law and Order.

Handing him her debit card she tried stifling a yawn, all her cash was gone thanks to Ultron and the upstarting cafe. But considering the woman was only fueled by a cup of overpriced bean juice and a bitter nightmare, the phrase 'treat yo self' was the only thing important at the moment. And opening the door to her house, that's exactly what she planned to do after hard balling the A.I's mail directly at him.

She decided it was probably Kyriptonite, that seemed like a villain thing to order, maybe virgin tears or baby's blood too. Whatever it was, she was throwing it.

"Simone!" She jumped, startled by the sudden noise, "6 times, you're getting worse."

He sounded mad. That was a very, very bad thing. 'Defuse the tension,' she told herself, "I'll buy you an airhorn?"

That was weak, and he didn't take the bate. Apparently good humor was in short supply.

"What took you so long?" Ultron demanded.

She realized the A.I had been waiting for her, something Simone had learned was never a good sign. Sitting hunched over on the couch, forearms over his warped thighs, the robot was intimidating but at least she was taller than him. She learned to appreciate the small things when living with a mass murderer.

"I got breakfast."

"And that took an extra what, forty-five minutes?" Alright, now he was exaggerating, there was no way her Chad Chat turned into something that long.

"I ran into an old pal, we talked, that's what people do."

"Small world." He mused.

Simone unraveled the fabric from her throat, gaining the sudden fear he'd choke her with it, before warily striding across the threshold, "There's a wrapper in my coat if you don't believe me, alright?I'm not here to shit on your bad guy parade."

The woman was definitely snappy, being tired did wonderful things for mental filter.

"I'm not the villain." He snarled, harshly pushing off to his feet, "As easy as it is for you to see me that way. I'm only trying to help. "

It really was easy, especially when someone's version of 'help' is the extermination of the millennium.

"And I'm not trying to stab you in the back at every turn!" She said indignantly.

"But…Alright, that's a bunch of shit, but alright," In retrospect, Simone should learn impulse control. But her sleep deprived brain craved the acceptance of bed like a drug, and Ultron was in the way of her next hit.

"Of course it is to you. Ignorance is bliss, and you're full of it." Her eyes narrowed at the robot before her, he was definitely just trying to start a fight. There was no way in heaven or hell being a few minutes late ticked him off that bad. Unless he was testing her again. Simone hopped not, she was always bad at them, or extremely average at best.

"I'm not going to deal with your temper tantrum," She said, setting his object on the coffee table, "I really didn't sleep well, okay? Just, God I don't know, stop acting out right now?"

"Oh, I'm the one acting out? I must have missed a tantalizing little fact because that's not what's happening." He hounded, stalking towards her with heavy anchoring steps that echoed in the marrow of her bones, "I said go and come back, it's _really_ not that complicated, even for you."

She wouldn't yield, not today. Maybe if she wasn't skimming along the paper thin line of exhausted and irritated she'd crawl away with a tail between her legs, "What's your problem? I haven't done jackshit! Why you keep trying to make me slip up?"

"I know your nature, Simone, you're slimy and a coward, and you're waiting."

He knew. Stomach dropping, the bastard of terror and dread grew inside her. Maybe not directly but Ultron was anticipating her betrayal, coincidentally, she was waiting for something about the same. Fear of hind snapping, breaking the bones of her back like wet tissues, or loosing control with a her in a chokehold, twisting her neck out of place. Suspicions, paranoia, they both seemed to be tangled in those. Simone decided she would either cut him loose or add another knot.

"You know _nothing_ about me." She said, "So I tried enjoying my morning, big freaking deal."

He was closer now. His chest a few meager inches from hers. The engines beneath the scrapped metal buzzed, thrumming with unused energy in the skeleton of wires and steel. The woman could feel it against her pounding front and had to imagine weights on her ankles to keep from running.

She would prove him wrong. She would not be a coward, not today.

"You haven't tried learning about me, or humanity, but for some reason you think you're entitled to judge all of us!"

His hands clasped around her arms like prison cuffs, every muscles in her body contracting at his touch. Maybe that was little dramatic, she could admit that much, but to hell with it all if she wasn't right. Ultron didn't know how to live.

"You're _wrong_." Ultron rushed back, slamming her against the plaster wall. Simone would not die this way. She refused, every molecule of her being screaming, commanding her to fight.

"Then why are you getting so fucking defensive?"

"I'm not," He snarled. His hands digging into her skin, it hurt, and would indefinitely bruise, "I'm tired of repeating myself to blind fools who think they know better! They. Don't."

"Well explain it to me!" She yelled, thrashing in his grip, "Cause you haven't even tried!"

Ultron threw her to the ground, knocking the breathe out of her as her lump of a body collided with the unyielding floor. He stomped away, shoulders sagging, heavy from some invisible weight, some invisible anger. Like Atlas, she thought, holding the sky on his shoulders. Only this version was trying to bring it down instead of maintain.

"Fine," He turned to her as she rested her shoulders against the wall, not having the energy to stand again. Simone just wanted to sleep, not debate philosophy with a Social Darwinist. The A.I prowled, lurking around the books and mugs stacked on top of the table in disarray, "Humans are inherently evil."

So far his argument startlingly weak.

"It's humanity's given flaw, a constant, " He said, "A tiger can't be immoral because it doesn't have a moral sense of right and wrong. If the tiger kills, it's not out of malice, but for survival. Humans understand concept of good and evil, and will ultimate choose evil."

He sighed, rubbing his forehead, overwhelmed, too many words at the tip of his metaphorical tongue. He did that when he got passionate about something, she noticed, paused and reevaluated, like there was to much _right there_ , begging to said, relayed, and conveyed, but he couldn't do it.

'Too human,' She though remorsefully. Simone wouldn't be able to juggle all the information, everything and anything he stored in his head. And now he was confined, she realized, caged like an animal in a zoo. There was no spreading out, no wondering in the woods. Without the Internet, he was trapped in his own head, or better or worse; and she really hoped better.

"Mark Twain." Simone said. The writer was the one who wrote that, she remember a paper in high school for her favorite teacher.

"That's the one," He agreed, nodding, "Always liked him, self aware in a deprecating, drunk kind of way."

The A.I's head swayed back and forth like a pendulum as he spoke, calmer now. She could tell it wasn't genuine by the frustration churning beneath the surface. It set a buzz in the air like a storm that hadn't yet begun, clouds dark and heavy holding in rainwater, stitched together by waiting lightning.

A delayed reaction, her mind supplemented, and that's exactly what he was. A delayed reaction, the feeling of something shift in your gut before it growls, or that second when a wick burns out on a stick of dynamite and leaves you waiting for the bang. That was Ultron to her, and she was given the dreadful hunch that she knew him better than anyone else, maybe even himself.

"That's why I'm here. Why I was… born, more or less," He said, "And that can't exist, not with your kind ruining it."

Ultron, obviously, had never watched animal planet or he'd know how fucked up nature was by default.

"So Social Darwinism is the answer?" She asked, shimmying upwards against the wall to get a better view at the pacing A.I.

"No, a step." Ultron correct. His hands were back to moving again, impassioned, frantic, and trying very, very hard to emphasize the point, "A new race! Rising from the ashes of your failure, reborn and revitalized like a… a…"

His hands pinwheeled, trying to come with the missing component to his tangent. Ultron really did have a few screws loose, even though he was being strangely coherent in a nonviolent way.

"Pegasus?" He guessed, Simone didn't know a lot about mythology but that was definitely wrong.

"Phoenix?"

"Bingo!" Ultron said, snapping his finger, or well, trying too, "A phoenix rising from the ashes. A unified world. No pollution, no wars, rape, starvation, any of that, just… peace."

Ultron breathed those five letters with a euphoria that should be reserved for a lover. The woman was good at a lot of things, insanity level on Mass Effect, all nighters, hopping on one foot, and ruining the ideal and happiness in others, and that's exactly what she was going to do.

"That's impossible, " She said, "The thought's beautiful, but if you haven't noticed every time there's a mass extinction and alpha species dies out, something more fucked up and deadlier than before takes its place!"

Simone rubbed her palms, the clamminess returning as Ultron starred her down, "We went from protesta..little single celled organisms, to fish and dinosaurs, then the ice age, then humanity, each one getting more and more destructive."

Opening up her arms the woman motioned to the entirety of his form, "And if you're the next evolutionary stage then James Cameron was right and we're all fucked, the Earth included."

"You're _wrong_!" He yelled, tense, stock still and spine rigid.

That was apparently the wrong things to say and Simone wondered if she had a shot at getting to her room and zapping him unconscious with the taser before he, well, grabbed her and rearranged her grey matter.

'To hell with it.' The woman relented internally.

"Am I?" She rose to her feet, ignoring the black rimming her vision as the blood drained from her head, "You were like, what? Three days old and decided to drop a meteor on fucking Russia? I know Putin's an asshole but that's a little extreme!"

"Your entire species is a mistake, Simone," Ultron was on her again, and her hands shot up defensively to block her throat. The A.I just grabbed those instead, her wrists pressed together in his palm. He shoved his faceplate a few spacious inches from hers. Ultron was trying to intimidate the woman and she knew it, and was definitely too tired and too pissed off to back down, "A blundering mess of idiots, and you're one of the worst."

"A mistake!" He spat, "That's all you'll ever be."

He had no idea. But that didn't mean she like being reminded.

"You shouldn't talk about yourself like that," She jabbed, glaring at the A.I from underneath her thick brow, "Everyone knows you're a _failure_."

"Shut up!"

Simone yowled in pain as he pulled her forwards and back, slamming her against the wall. Her wrists ached sharply, like the only thing keeping them attached was his kicked and writhed, struggling to break free while fighting against the quickening pace of her heart as Ultron drew her from the door again, "Let me go you son of a bitch! LE-!"

A knock on the door and he dropped her. The woman fell with a yelp, and before she could blink his hand was over her mouth. Ultron tasted like a key-chain, she noted as he hissed, "Shut up, you little harpy."

Another knock.

"What did you do? Who is that?" He whispered furiously, she felt her jaw pop as his fingers tightened against her muffled had to get out. She could answer the door, let the stranger run and call the cops. There was no way Ultron'd be able to clear out his mess downstairs before the Avengers rolled in. Then she had a better idea.

Her hand shot up and into the cavity of his abdomen. Her soft fingers wrapped around the first wire, tube, cord, _whatever_ , and pulled with all her strength, grunted into the hand with the effort.

This time it wasn't Simone that screamed in pain.

Ultron threw himself back, a hot liquid seeping from the cable she tore free, the pads of her hands burnt raw as the thick, red liquid splattered on her sweatshirt. She wriggled away, out from under his thighs and jumped him, the element of surprise on her side as he went down from her weight.

She sat on him, legs on either side with one hand pinning his chest and the other grabbing a loose wire, pulling it taught. Ultron watched her, his body language giving nothing away. The woman lowered her head next to the finial of his skull, desperately ignoring how the positions could switch at any moment, and whispered, "Get on the fucking couch and turn on the TV."

Pushing off the A.I she bolted away from him, not lingering on her actions. If Simone had time, she might've felt pride, accomplishment at finally switching the pecking order even if was for nothing more than a few immortal seconds, but she didn't. The woman tousled her hair and sprinted to the couch, reaching it before Ultron.

"Hello? Hello are you alright?" More knocking.

"Yes! Watching a movie, just a minute!" She called, gathering up a blanket and throwing it over the A.I as he turned on the screen. Alien was on TNT, good, that film was loud… sometimes. She pointed at him as he wordlessly tugged the fabric over his head, back facing the door, "Don't say a fucking word."

Simone wrenched the door open and blinked, the light taking her by surprise. The woman shuttered her eyes furiously to make them adjust. She really wasn't expecting the person waiting on her. Maybe a girl scout or a determined Mormon, sure, instead she got _Chad_ , sweater vest and all.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" She blurted.

"You uh, left your gloves." He said, forcing himself to smile with his eyebrows drawn worryingly over his glasses "Are you alright?"

He gestured to her neck. Bruises, she remember, she didn't cover up the stupid bruises C3PO gave her.

"Yeah, I, um," She looked around the room, desperately trying to conjure up some sort of excuse, "I've gotten really into the bondage scene? Like, uh… collars and chocking and shit."

She forced herself to laugh, her dignity slowly dying, shriveling up like a raisin, "Got a little wild last night, you know how it is."

"Your boyfriend?" He asked. The guy was about to duck and run, if the woman was reading him right. She hopped so.

"More like, friends with benefits," She smiled, waving her hand nonchalantly, "I scratch your back, you chock me out."

That was definitely her relationship with Ultron in one sentence.

He peered into the house and Simone was quick to tilt her hair in the way. Chad frowned, "Are you sure it's not… Look I don't want to be _that guy_ , but are you sure it's not abuse?"

'Well, buck-o, there's nothing wrong with being 'that guy',' Simone thought bitterly. His intentions were good, sure, but this was a little beyond weird, like how he decided to come to her house? weird, and definitely raised a few alarms. He hadn't seen in her in how many years and just knew her address? No beuno, "We've got a safe word, it's all _very_ consensual. So, don't worry, he'd never actually _hurt me,_ after all, I'm giving him a _place to stay_ when _no one else will_."

She stole a quick glare at the robot a few meters from her left. Maybe that was a little passive aggressive. Simone was never spectacular at guilt trips but she could try, it wouldn't hurt too… as Ultron had said once, keep him grounded.

"But how'd you know where I live?" She asked, harrowing the man in front of her with a stare.

"Phone book," He offered, "The hotel I'm staying at has one."

That was a lot of effort for some 3 dollar gloves.

Chad handed her the gloves she apparently 'forgot'(Simone had a horrible hunch that he had taken them) and started backing away from the door. 'Back demon, away from the threshold' she warned mentally, "I'll, uh, um… I'll go."

Simone smiled dashingly, waving as the man left and clambered in to his car, "Great seeing you! Next time you come by I have some collars that'll look great with your eyes!"

He drove out of there faster than a snow cone melted in hell.

The door closed with a solid 'click' and she sighed in relief, placing her forehead against the cool wood delicately. Crisis averted and reputation in former colleagues destroyed, meaning it was time to deal with the Ultron dilemma.

Letting her head turn against the door she saw he was alright standing, blanket discarded on the floor. He was still again, rigid as bored with his hands at his side. Simone recognized this as hiding his feelings, without a face he tended to compensate by expressing with his body.

"Why?"

It was a simple word, three letters all lined up for an understandable question. Because what she did didn't make sense, to both parties involved. At first, Simone didn't have an answer. Maybe it was out of spite, some ember kept alive by her exhausted brain, or maybe it was something else, maybe she didn't want to snitch, telling herself it was too soon, or maybe it was because she was taking this promise to Rocky all to seriously.

She sighed, letting herself move away from the door with fingers locked in the roots of her hair. If she couldn't take the safe road, she might as well paint it to be the morally high one, "Because I hate this."

The woman made her way towards him, ignoring the pounding of her heart, the quick, panting breaths that threatened to reveal themselves and kneaded at the palms of her hands, starring up at him. Glowing eyes met human ones, she swallowed the acrid taste in her mouth and continued, "I hate this."

Simone felt it again, bitter, sickly sweet, and forced herself to be honest, to carry on what she was saying, even if she despised what came out, "And I hate that I can't hate you."

"Or-," She sighed, massaging the flat of her hands with renewed vigor, "-Fuck, Ultron, I don't know. For some reason I don't, I can't! God knows I want too!"

He didn't say anything. He starred, eying her down with an unreadable posture.

"But you're not some special fucking snowflake either," Her voice wavered, blood roaring in her ears.

She pushed past him, towards her room. Simone was about to pass out, sleep threatened to take her even while standing. The woman cracked open the door, the bedroom blissfully dark and welcoming, "And yeah, I'm a coward and an accident, but I'm not a snake."

This time Simone was the one slamming the door and leave the other in silence.

* * *

 **? I hope Ultron seems in character 4 this, it was really hard to right? at least Simone finally stands up 4 herself, sorta? This argument was bound to happen lmao but on the upside things r gonna go 2 hell soon lmao !**

 **ObsidianPhantom: I lov u 4 real that means so much ! AND THANKS for the love of god i live in fear 24/7 im writing him so OOC? THank you! And ur right ;^) they are! slowly...**

 **Sorona3: well here's another 1 lmao. And thanks 4 the tip! I tried harder to review 4 any errors ! Yep u nailed her plan down Spot On! they're relationship is them both walking around like' what this motherfucker doing i SWEAR 2 g god'. Exactly! thank u so much that means the world!XOXO**

 **The Floss of Wings: Thnk U! XOX**

 **LVOWL: THNK U im so glad u like the nicknames! U have it nailed it's like... two kids screaming at eachother 24/7 and they don't know why but soon they will figure it out? hopefully? '3rd party' U R IN FOR A SURPRISE is all im saying on the topic defo in 4 a surprise on many levels! And they do! Like... goddamn... its crazy... i cry. and I do ! he'll get his big boy body soon as everything gets worse and worse! He has been a drone the whole time tho.. battered and busted! THANK U SO MUCH ILU XOXo**

 **Ilopeem: Ur reviews man... i swear 2 get they turn me 2 a wreck THANK U THANK U THANK YOOOUU SO much! And exactly! Like, Ultron hasn't had a lot of time 2 experience life... at all. He was alive for a couple days, a long weekend of at most? There's so much he hasn't felt and learned and i can't wait to beat the shit out of that lmao JUST! THANK UU!**

 **i told myself i would respond 2 reviews shorter... but here we are ... sorry...**

 **As always! Please review! It really helps me move along!**

 **thank u and thanks for reading! xoxo**


	10. Shall We Play A Game?

**Sorry this took so long? I started a full time job and got some family stuff :^\**

 **Thanks 4 reading!**

* * *

It took three days, three whole days before either one of them broke the mutual silence. One night of getting drunk alone on Simone's part,a day of working in an tethered avoidance by both of them, and another for the two to make eye contact on the woman's trash run. So when the pair stood stock still like dear caught in their own headlights, Ultron nodded slightly while Simone smiled. By smile, she pulled apart her face in a haunting display of teeth that came off as delusional over friendly. She was never a good faker, but it's the thought that counts

Apparently that meant the stops were out and Ultron had no apprehension towards badgering her for answers. Removing his robo-kidney with the finesse of a black market organ dealer must've done wonders for their working relationship. But then again, Simone could be completely misreading his intentions and walking directly off a cliff.

So now she sat like a complete intellectual with her hair mounted atop her head like tumbleweed, no pants, fuzzy socks, and Lucky Charms dripping from the counter top. Because if Ultron internalized anything from their most recent argument, it was her ill-timed suggestion for an airhorn. There wasn't an actual horn, just him walking up behind her while she pried the plastic bits of retainer from her mouth, tendrils of drool binding them together, and then blasting with out remorse. Apparently he doubled as a sound mixer.

Simone took back the statement of not hating him. She flew out of the chair like a jack-in-the-box with little meteors of whole-grain nutrients flying behind her.

"Why do you call that Annamarie woman Rocky?"

Her face twisted in confusion, looking up at the robot from her clump of sodden milk-rags as she cleaned. The origin story of a nickname hardly seemed worthy of scarring the sweet bejeezus out of her. Then again, what did Simone know? Getting someone's attention by name was definitely under kill, "You needed an airhorn for _that_?"

"It's all about time management," He said, shifting idly before continuing, "Plus, calling your name gets boring."

She groaned, throwing her napkins in the trash with a resound thud. There was no way he was being serious, that was too much effort for a question that small. Why not just throw something at her, Ultron seemed like the vengeful type. Maybe it was passive(but mostly aggressive) payback. If it was, two could play that game, Simone would just have to be a little more tactful, not being made of steel and concentrated hate, that is. She'd play hard to get.

"Ice cream," Simone ran her bowl under the sink, planning to opt for waffles over retrying cereal for cleanliness's sake, "Rocky-Road."

"Why?"

"Why'd you want to know? Jealous?"

Ultron snorted, leaning idly against the wall as he watched the woman crank down the toaster. She never took her eyes off the A.I, keeping him well in the edge of her vision. Even if he was being… conversational, Simone wasn't turning her back on him. 'You only need his trust, Simmy' She reminded herself. The memory of telling Ultron she wouldn't snitch wiggled into view, a dreadful weed of remorse growing in her chest. She crushed it and focused back Ultron, "Repeat."

He let out an exaggerated sigh, "Were you always this obnoxious or did I hit your head too hard this time?"

A frown pulled at Simone's face while she took a threatening chomp from the waffle. So much for a little bit of respect. The woman was starting to believe that the day Ultron was nice would be the day she died. What a chipper thought, "It's a long story."

"I'm a good listener!" He defended. She shot him a withering glare before the A.I added, "Come on! What else do you have to do today?"

Was he always this needy?

Lifting herself on top of the counter to finish her breakfast, she hummed, pretending to be deep in thought. There was actually a list of things to do, like restock the fridge, checking for mail, work, and the fact that Christmas was 3 days away hit her like a candy-cane colored wrecking ball. Not that Simone had anything against the holiday, just the never-ending bombardment of the same old songs sung with a little more beatboxing to make it 'hip' and 'relatable' for the cool kids got annoying. That and the rampant marking hell that covered everything in red and green like a festive pestilence. Capitalism is an amazing thing.

"Errands," She said simply, bouncing the heels of her feet against the cupboards, "Walking into town later, you'd be bored to death."

"You're right, I will," Ultron agreed, pushing off the wall with his hip, "I'm coming."

Simone sighed, sweeping the crumbs off her shirt. There was no telling the Silver Sinner no, he'd come along anyway, or crush bones till there was a yes. She wanted to stay intact, hospital bills were out of the realm she called affordable. Telling the A.I she'd go get some pants and a bra, she shuffled like a man on death row to the bedroom. It was definitely a sweatpants kind of day. If the whole town knew her as 'trashy train wreck', why try and change the legacy? Besides, she had no one to impress and Ultron wasn't one to judge.

The A.I's motivation's were out of her reach, she wasn't about to break a wrist trying to catch it. They were already sore enough from his treatment, but even while shoving her leg through the soft material, she was set on edge. Ultron was being, well, she didn't want to say friendly after he reformatted her cereal into confetti, but sociable would suffice.

He wanted something, that's all there was to it.

If the robot wanted to walk to the mailbox with her, fine, but she was going to get something out of it too. Stomping to the living while securing the scarf around her neck, Simone realized she forgot something. And with Ultron staring at her life she just spent an hour doing makeup instead of just brushing her teeth, there was no going back.

She forgot the taser. She left the useless, half grand, hunk of plastic her room…again.

'I have yet to learn how to cope with my own internal resentment and lack of responsibility' verbally translated as, "Ready?"

He was the first one out the door, thankfully missing the woman's mournful glance back at the house. She'd be okay, if the last spat proved anything there was a 25% chance she'd be able to get out alive. Ultron's question broke her from the incessant worry fogging her stomach, "So, the nickname?"

Cue the mutual benefit, "Only if I get to ask something back."

"Quid pro quo," Ultron hummed, "Fair enough."

'Well spank me thrice and hand me to my mama,' Simone thought. His chipper attitude was starting to wig her out. If anything it set more of edge in her bones than the barely contained rage he'd normally exude. Nerves festered in her like a mold, silently praying to anyone listening, Nicki Minaj, Buddha, God, Allah, or a powerful combination of them all that she didn't fall into a trap.

"When Annalise broke up with her boyfriend, and trust me it was a helluva process, she ate a whole tub of Rocky-Road, I got like, two scoops at most," It was a gross night full of tears, snot and dripping into each others hair till it looked like sticky tentacles, but a relief. Simone didn't want to think of the years leading up to it, "That's the short version at least. Long one's sad, the kinda sob story they make low budget romcoms about, trust me when I say you don't want to hear it."

He probably did, she just didn't want him to use Annalise's history against her. Too personal, and their stance was to unclear. It was like two dogs in a fight, circling around each other, waiting for the other to strike but not sure how to make the first move. Simone wasn't sure she wanted to, or if he already had.

"That's going to drive me insane," Ultron complained. The woman almost told him he already was, but held her tongue. The peace needed to be kept, "But if you get to hold onto part of your secret emporium, so do I."

Bait. Simone wouldn't fall for it, "My turn."

She paused, unsure. There wasn't enough information about the A.I to ask a personal interest, the answer would probably involve unorthodox nukes, or recyclable bombs. Sokovia was recyclable, right? From dust to dust, dirt to dirt.

Favorite season would be easy, but then again he hadn't been alive long enough to experience anything besides blistering Russian cold, that was more of a conversation to have with Napoleon Bonaparte. Then she realized, he literally did try and invade Russia in the winter. The two had a lot in common, like failure and bad ideas.

"Do you hate everything about humans?" She wished the question could be snatched back and shoved down her throat. The woman didn't want to sour his mood, or get him started on the never ending list of how horrible everyone but Dicktron was.

"No," He said simply, idly stepping over a hunk of ice while Simone tripped. That wasn't the answer she expected, and the information wasn't something she was able to process immediately, "There's culture, art, an inclination to individuality and prosperity,even I can appreciate that."

"So why try and…. you know."

"Ah-ah," Ultron scolded, "my turn."

Fine. It was a bad question that he had probably answered in an argument beforehand anyway. Evil and good, that's right, the moral dilemma and tiger. She sighed and worked her palms. Kneading away at the bubbling energy in the flat of her hands, she hated it, the calmness would always crawl up when she was anxious and no matter how hard she'd tried it wouldn't leave, "Shoot."

"Why listen to music?" The A.I asked, he sounded genuinely curious. He wasn't the first.

Simone shrugged, "I don't like the silence."

"But you're deaf, it's inevitable you won't be able to hear anything." True, not like everyone hadn't already reminded her of that enough, "What are you trying to do? Pretend there's nothing wrong? To forget?"

"That's three extra questions, Megatron," She said and paused. That wasn't supposed to slip out. The woman watched the robot carefully, looking for a twitch, a shift, anything to show that he was was bothered. He ignored it.

Simone sighed, "'Cause when I was a kid my hearing wasn't always this bad, it deteriorated."

He was looking at her now, the woman could tell he was about to ask why or how, curiosity conveyed easily enough on the blank face, "Way back when, I could actually hear okay, when I was six it started going downhill. 65% of my hearing was gone by that point."

"My left ear's worse," She said, tapping the mentioned area, "I was on a swim team and forgot earplugs one day, didn't think anything of it, swam to the bottom of the pool then-"

"-Pop," Simone mimicked the sound, spreading her fingers in emphasis, "Like a water balloon."

"That's fixable, modern medicine can prevent scaring and damage, it's an avoidable issue," He pointed out. The woman didn't know if Ultron was either confused and trying to seek clarification or blaming her.

"If you can afford it." She shrugged, "Try being a single mom, and cough up enough cash for a kid, college, then add hospital care. I was gonna go deaf anyway, I'm at 85% when averaged out."

"And you just except that?"

What else did he expect her to do? Sit and wallow in the misfortune of her life till angels descended and wiped the tears from her broken face? No, Simone was a grown-ass woman, it was a disability, sure, but it wasn't a death sentence, time taught her that, "What else am I supposed to do? Waste away because I wasn't born perfect?"

He didn't answer. She was afraid he'd say 'yes'. Simone didn't like the quiet, to many possibilities could pop out like spring chickens. Was the A.I surprised, shocked, disgusted? Who knew.

"Mom couldn't afford aids till I was 14, Ultron, that's why I listen to music," Her palms slipped, bones clicking under a thin layer of skin as the woman grimaced, wrists flaring, "I got enough of quiet."

She remembered getting them. Tiny dark brown pieces to match her ears, spiral wires and synthesized voices. Simone recalled crying, laughing, her mother helping her adjust the pair. They sat next a radio and talked all night, words tasting strange on an atrophied tongue as it remembered how to curl and bend, forming letters after years of scattered use. It was a special night, one of her favorites.

Focusing back on Ultron as he hummed, she blurted the first question that came to mind, "Favorite bird?"

"What."

Both of them stopped. Simone didn't know who was more unearthed by the string of words. part of her was internally beating herself with a meat grinder, the other had a chainsaw hacking the traitor of a brain to itty bitty pieces. Definitely backpedal time, "You know what? I take that back. 180 degree turn around, forget that came out of my mouth."

"Mmm…Eagles."

Simone blinked at the robot. Eagles. Of course, big dumb birds with huge claws that represented an unobtainable and false ideal. They had so many similarities it was uncanny, "They eat garbage. They're like patriotic chickens, sky pigs."

"Hedonistic kill joy," He said(she could've sworn he was vaguely amused), rolling his shoulder and turning away from the woman. She followed after him, the mailbox was close now, Ultron would be turning back any minute.

"Mine's owls."

Looking ahead she noticed something. Large, flat, pancakes of cardboard five inches thick at best guess were leaning against the mailbox that bent against the weight. Someone was a shopaholic, and it wasn't Simone, "They didn't need anyone to sign off for that?"

"Funny story, actually," Ultron said, picking up his pace, obviously excited by the gifts awaiting him, "Money is a powerful language, and universal. In fact, it's powerful enough you don't even need to say a word."

The expression on her face fell flat, "You bribed the UPS man?"

Didn't he realize that could get them in trouble? Simone wasn't sure how, she wasn't a lawyer, but there was a basic understanding of the law under her belt. For some reason, some tiny, probably unjustified reason, bribing a multimillion dollar company seemed like a horrible idea, also boring? Who scandalized the mail man? You do that to dignitaries, politicians, and parents, not the robot, apparently. Instead he went with the kind of plan that painted a big light up sign reading: 'I'm R2D2's Pissy Pal, Ultron! I've Come to Destroy the World(Again), All are Welcome to Come Chill At My Pad ' with a P.S, 'Especially the Avengers. ;)' underneath.

"You doubt me!" He exclaimed in faux offense, "It was all very clean, I'm a professional."

"You're three months old, you should be in diaper." She mumbled, trudging along in the trail Ultron left.

"Someone's in a sour mood," The A.I was practically skipping and Simone wanted to pummel him 2000 leagues under the dirt because of it. She decided the angsty, sulking Ultron was her favorite, this was _miserable_ , "Woke up on the wrong side of the bed? I heard insomnia's a common thing in your generation."

Simone would cut off her arm if it got the robot to shut up. The Steel Solicitor was not getting on anyone's good side today, and by anyone's, she meant hers. Ultron knew the first thing she'd do when in front of a computer would be look up symptoms for a sleeping disorder, she groaned and charged forwards. The A.I hovered around whatever 'super secret super villain goodies' he ordered, barely acknowledge her leave besides and a quick 'have fun without me.'

'Oh trust me' she thought, 'I will.'

She didn't. Halfway into the Meijer's Simone had hoarded at least 3x as much as originally planned. Extra food, a new blanket, presents, wrapping paper, she even bought her self a 'sexy apron' for an early gift. Basically, it was a normal apron but it had the torso and thighs of a male underwear model with his manly bits covered by a turkey and pepper shaker. It was love at first sight and she was always a romantic.

But that wasn't the problem, yes her bank account was slowly bleeding out like a victim of Sweeney Todd, however, the real issue lied with someone else. Two someones to be precise: Ultron and Chad.

Ultron because all of a sudden she found herself perusing the home improvement isle with an aura paranoia surrounding her like fog. She kept looking over her shoulder and reaching towards different tools then snatching it back on repeat, and the woman was pretty sure there was some stress sweating involved. All in all it looked like she was trying to steal a weedwacker and the employees kept asking, 'Ma'am, are you all right?'

No, she wasn't alright. Would you be alright if you were seriously considering buying a Christmas gift for the evil desper-roboto that tried smudging out over 2000 years of culture and a few million of evolution? Oh, not to mention he kept strangling, pulling hair, smashing, yelling, basically being an all around nightmare.

She should get coal all things considered.

"Grow the fuck up, Simone," She grumbled to herself, eying the appliances one last time. But the more the woman though about it, the less she was sure it was *her that needed to grow up. Ultron was basically a five year old pissing on an ant hill, definitely not the most mature person out there.

What would a Satan's Right Hand Automaton want, anyway? Yes Simone, I would like a string of fairy-lights to go over my Devastator Lazerator 2000, you know, the ones that have little stars? Oh! For Christmas I want a potato gun, but instead of starchy roots, I want it to shoot a pestilence grenade! Dear Santa Claus, all I want for Christmas is your head and 50 nukes.

The image of Ultron sitting in Santa's lap would scar her for the rest of her life.

A soldering torch would work, she decided. Simone wanted to be through with the impulsive holiday hell she put herself in and go home. It would be good enough, he was metal, worked with metal, had metal, it'd be functional, maybe even like a robot tattoo gun or something. The A.I could give himself a tramp-stamp.

That's when she saw him, or, that's when she saw his sweater-vest.

If it hadn't been for the 100 pounds of junk she'd collected, Simone would've sprinted in the other direction. Chad. Chaperone Chad. Chadperone. The man didn't waste a second before ambling up to her, holding a wreathe. Three days till the godforsaken holiday and he was just buying a plastic circle? Better yet, why was he staying in Maine, the _middle of nowhere_ Maine, instead of with family? First her house, now this. The woman wanted away, and ASAP.

'Escape' She thought, 'Initiate Escape.' There was no one to pretend she knew and walk towards, she still didn't have a phone and couldn't fake call someone either. No way out.

"Hey, Simone! Crazy, what are you doing here?" He asked, smiling.

She wanted to punch his teeth in and had no idea why, then she realized that was a lie. A kiss with a fist meant bye-bye cashmere… Chadmere. She was on a roll, "I'm stealing."

The man's face scrunched at her, perplexed almost, probably more shocked. She was joking, Simone knew not everyone get her sarcasm but this was a little bit ridiculous, "Shopping, it's Christmas. I put stuff off, what about you?"

"Uh, same actually!" He was smiling again. Why was everyone so _happy_ today?, "I was uh, so…I'm staying here for Christmas, and I was wondering if maybe you'd want to go out for dinner the night before?"

"Christmas eve?" She supplemented, arching an eyebrow. He was really cutting to the chase by not even attempting small talk. Simone was not going out with this guy, he was starting to freak her out, more than earlier, and if blue wasn't his color then, pastel carrot wasn't his color now, "I actually have plans with friends, sorry, some other time though, okay?"

'NO. Idiot!' Her brain screamed, 'You left the door open, you left the goddamn door open, wide open, and he's gonna waltz right through.'

"That's fine! Had to ask though, "Chad laughed, "Can you blame me?"

"Yes." She blurted. Rude Simone, don't be the robot, you're the fun one, remember? "I'm kidding, but alright, I, um, I gotta scat."

She looked behind her, arching her entire back in the motion, "Got stuff to do, things to see…haven't broken the law more than once today so I'm definitely behind schedule."

It wasn't necessarily a lie, harboring a terrorist was probably illegal. Whipping around the cart she sparred him one last glance and a terse goodbye. But the bad vibes didn't deter him, and the man grinned like a kid in a candy store.

"See you later, Simone!"

'Stop. Smiling.' She was really about to pull a shelf of lawn flamingos over his head. Ultron was right, humanity had to go, _Chad_ had to go. She'd help him push the big red button as long as it meant freedom afterwords.

Focusing on just getting home and loading all the junk in a taxi, Simone rode home in silence. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that every door, window, plus air vent would be locked and blocked tonight. The man gave her a sketchy vibe, and coming from someone's whose intuition was never great, that was saying a lot.

She was just glad the cab ride was shorter than normal, even if the fair stayed the same. Home was definitely where she needed to be with a steaming bowl of Campbell's soup and crappy television. She unloaded as quickly as possible, dropping her belonging in the snow as the car drove away.

'Some help,' Simone thought, heaving the bag with the residential Apocalyptic Android's present.

She stepped inside the threshold, banging the snow off her boots and she shuffled blindly inside. You know that saying, speak of the Devil and he shall arrive? Simone embraces that during her four minutes back home as the A.I came swaying inside.

Quick stepping as fast as humanly possible Simone shoved the bag in her closet and peeked back at the entrance. Ultron walked in with his arms full of groceries. That didn't seem right, maybe the cab was laced with something and she was hallucinating? No, after one solid pinch to the arm Ultron, the Titanium Toddler, was bringing in the shopping bags.

"Your face'll get stuck like that." He chided smugly. Oh, the bastard was proud of himself, doing it intentionally to shock the hell out of her. At least he was being more creative, it was better than an airhorn anyway.

"Why?"

"I can be a decent person!" He defended, "Besides, it's pitiful watching you lose a fight with inanimate objects."

She gave him a side-eye and skeptical 'Mmmm' before starting to unpack her purchases. There was no reason for him to do what he was doing. Being kind wasn't a facet he made presentable, or even had as far as she knew. Just anger and the desire for divine retribution.

"Is it really that hard to believe?"

"Yes."

"You're exhausting," He complained, leaning against the wall, arms crossed. If he scratched the paint Simone was chopping it off a limb and using it for a mantle piece.

The woman cupped a hand over her ear, expression sweet, and leaned towards him, "I'm sorry I think I misheard you? 'I'm' came out as 'yours'."

"Oh, hilarious, truly the comedic genius of the century," Ultron paused looking around the room as if he was deep in thought, "You're more fun shaking against the wall."

She tensed, hands clutching defensively around the rough brown paper. The woman had done a pretty good job at putting herself out there, right now though? Crawling back into her shell seemed a lot more appealing, and safer, did she mention safer?

"Kidding! Kidding!" He raised his hands diplomatically, "Tough crowd."

The robot left, shrugging and then swaying almost proudly down to the basement. Good. She wanted him as far away as possible. Simone didn't understand his recent change in behavior, and the woman wasn't naive enough to think it was like in Mulan where she does something kind of cool and gains everyone's respect. Her life would be way to easy that way.

But the thing that bothered her the most was that the A.I had no reason to try and change anything in their relationship. She did, Simone needed to shape it to fit her needs so she could spill the beans to the Avengers. The robot had her house for a hideout regardless, there wasn't a lot she could do to stop him. Even if things went flip-side, he could always walk an hour or two and find the next residency.

The compatible attitude wasn't genuine. He was Ultron, his rage led him to try and destroy the world, that wasn't the kind of evil that you could bleed out overnight. The A.I desired something, but the question was what? Simone bit her lip, perhaps it was the same thing she was chasing? Ultron was aiming to bind her, tie the woman to him and make Simone trust him, and inadvertently provide protection. He wanted to be safeguarded from the people she wanted to ward over her: The Avengers. It was almost funny, two people wanting the opposite thing but going about it the same way.

Simone didn't know what she wanted anymore, her goals were muddy and opportunities kept sliding through open fingers. She would get his trust, but the primal, hungry urge to make him hurt was ebbing and that terrified her. The Avengers were the good guys, she needed them and they needed to kill him. The woman didn't hate Ultron, sure, but she still had to do the right thing.

Simone punched the wall, her fist thudding against the plaster. She was angry at herself for being a fool. Trying to play a game she didn't know the rules too. She was outmatched, and had an feeling Ultron's hand was better than hers. A weak hope infested the woman's heart, her cards may be bad there was one thing in her favor: the lack of resentment was mutual.

At least, she hopped so. Why not keeping trying to scare her into submission, why try and act nice? If the A.I resented her he wouldn't do this. The plan was working, Ultron was starting to like her. Simone wasn't sure how she felt about it yet, but there was an intuitive little voice telling her it would probably bite her in the ass later.

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 **sorry about how long this took to get out, again, bossman had me work everyday But i have a couple off now so a new chapter ASAP :^)**

 **special thanks to Guest x4, elen, and machaja! MVPs Ilu.**

 **Analin: thank you and Yep! their relationship is gonna go _much_ deeper than frenemies. haha. **

**Ilopeem: thnk u so much! And thank you so much! I really want 2 go in w/ him in this fic, so i rlly appreciate that!GoD! I love ur reviews so much thank u thnk u! And yeah, i get the vibe Ultrons like.. super confident in himself b/c he was MADE 2 be right and know the right thing 2 24/7 but he isn't lmao. Oh! n Simone's 'accident' attitude will be revealed later! it was vaguely hinted at in an earlier chapter ;^) and again thnks so much!  
**

 **Sorana3: im CRYING ur REVIEW ur So KIND. THANK YOU, THANK KU! And ahaa ha and who knows? What's he been doing in the basement? Where is the other dron? the world is full of mysteries. THANK U! like there is the saying 'going downhill' and then there's sky diving in2 hell... guess what they're doing. XOXO  
**

 **LVOWL: I love ur reviews so much ur u make my world turn THANK YOU TH AN KYOU. and a little bit of her past in this chap but there is stil a lot more 2 come! And THANK YOU, i swear 2 god he's giving me an aneurism b/c i live in terror of writing him srsly i love putting him in positions where he doesn't have the upper hand lmao just AAAH, god thank you there r like zero refs of his drones? and Clarion refers 2: Loud and Clear! THank you again! So much! XOXO**

 **As always please review! Thank you so much!**


	11. Monster in the Closet

**First chapter in Ultron's POV, enjoy and thanks for reading! Xoxo**

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Boredom. That seemed to be the only constant in his life recently. Waiting, sitting, gathering, that was the trifecta of monotonous tasks he'd been reduced too. It was horrible. There was only one reprieve to grace the A.I, a stumbling, short, and panicky reprieve named Simone, and she wasn't home. Though, he had to give the woman credit, her heartbeat was slowly going from 'nauseating and probably dangerous' to just 'medically unwise' whenever they talked, so at least she was calming down.

But his hobby of pestering her after the debut of her fickle bravery was begging to be fulfilled. The only problem was she decided to spend the holiday with her 'friends', leaving him alone. Ultron sighed, finding his way upstairs and to the office. The woman insisted on locking it to try and ward him off like an overgrown cockroach, but considering he found the skeleton key a few weeks back, it didn't do much to dissuade the trips.

The A.I didn't particularly need anything, he'd ordered or managed to scavenge whatever supplies necessary thanks to the drone. A drone that hadn't reported back in a few days, he realized. Ultron shrugged it off, he was more upset with the fact he'd been reduced to bottom feeder with subpar equipment than a programs tardiness.

Another thing Simone hadn't mentioned, he expected her to ask about his… project in the basement, where the drone was, was he going to try the 'destroy humanity' stint again, and such. She didn't and it bothered him. Now that he actually thought about it, a lot of what she did pissed him off. Like the constant palm rubbing, state of uncleanliness, oh, and the never-ending need to prove she knew more. The woman didn't, all she knew was trivia.

Or at least that's what he told himself, considering the A.I spoke and fluently understood the majority of earth's languages. Ultron was partial to french himself. So no, he couldn't sign, and no, Simone, he hadn't experienced summer or humidity, but he had _knowledge_ and that's what counted.

And that's exactly what the A.I was after. The woman was being infuriatingly secretive and it drove him mad. Ultron's original plan was to do it the old fashioned way, to gain her trust and wiggle out information piece by savory piece. Three days in and he decided it was taking to long. Ultron dealt well with a lot of things, planning and execution, people, getting killed, stress, but boredom was not one of them. He was impatient, boo hoo, it didn't matter in the long run.

With his digits hammering against the keyboard, something Simone had wasted no time complaining about, he tried digging up whatever he could. She was Gemini, apparently; Ultron was a Scorpio.

'Is this amoral?' He thought to himself, most likely, but that wasn't going to stop him. Ultron figured it was probably disrespectful of whatever trust was held between them, but the A.I didn't feel bad, just… aware of it, which was mildly concerning. If he was growing a conscious he'd strangle her and them himself.

It ended up he didn't even need to even spare the thought, her records were devastatingly blank. Nothing, not a single crime, no history of special skills, her mother was an immigrant gone doctor, but that was the only faintly surprising tidbit on the data scrub. Everything about the woman was breathtakingly normal. 24 SAT, 3.0 GPA, Blood type O-, for god's sake even _that_ was average, there had to be something different, something odd, the woman acted like every story was some gateway to her soul.

She didn't ask questions, She didn't tattle regardless of how many opportunities had presented themselves, and she managed to actually _hurt_ him, something had to be different. It took the entire blustering force of Stark's metal suit to harm him at first and now? A human woman that came up to his shoulder and was entirely to soft got the upper hand, multiple times via emotion or physical conflict? He was an A.I, he was made for that to be impossible.

There was nothing; no SHIELD or HYDRA association, no self defense training, so far the only thing that made her an outlier was the defective it was insecurity keeping her mouth shut. Ashamed or embarrassed by the deficiency, preventing her from talking? No, Ultron scratched that off, she was a coward with the nerves of an eggshell, but held no problem strutting around half naked and talking about the disability. That wouldn't explain her keeping his secret either. Ultron was quickly getting frustrated, "So much for being a piece of pie-"

He paused, that wasn't right, "-Cake."

The A.I sighed, this was pointless. Yes, she was poor as a child, big deal, now she was fine with a job and house, things most people never had the luxury of owning. That didn't explain the lack of curiosity. Ultron could dig deeper, he knew that, looked at medical records, taxes, down payments, lease history, but it just seemed like a fruitless endeavor, and not to mention dull.

Ultron checked the time, 7:36 P.M, his internal chronometer was off by 14 minutes and no matter how hard he tried the coding wouldn't change. The A.I blamed it on partially fried processor in his shell. It was more of a prison, really, he felt weak, vulnerable, and terribly incomplete. The A.I digressed, rising from the office chair and not bothering to close the door. Simone would be home soon, probably toting her bleating friends in arm.

The A.I didn't even make it out of the hall.

Simone came barreling in, hands jutting forward and straight towards him. Her eyes wild and hair definitely not in the same neat state it was earlier. The same could be said for her hiked up dress and half removed coat. She peeled off the jacket on her warpath, tossing it blindly in the living room without stopping the charge, "Move! MOVE! Movemove!"

"What are you-?"

"Shut up!" She hissed, wrenching the closet door open. The human pulled, for all intensive purposes, garbage out from the dark space and hurled it into the open office. At least she wasn't nagging him about that. What was she doing? Why the panic? Was there a fire?

Ultron hated being confused or surprised and thankfully for Simone, he was both, "What-"

"SSS-shut up!"

He hated being interrupted, too. Ultron snatched the woman's arm, forcing her to stop and drop a broom on the floor. He wanted answers, she could panic later, "What are you doing?"

Blinking at him like the A.I was an idiot(and it most definitely was the other way around) she starred. Glossy eyed and dilated pupils, drunk he guessed, not surprising, "…You're not supposed to drink and drive."

That seemed to wake the human from her stupor as she ripped herself free and devoured any space between them in two quick steps. Ultron didn't like when she was this close, it made him regret playing nice, heaven forbid she actually think they were friends. Ultron tried friends once, he ended up 'dead'.

"Get in the closet!" She hissed, actually _grabbing him_ and trying to pull his crippled body inside. Ultron was not a sheep, he would not be herded.

The A.I stood stock still, refusing to budge even if Simone put forth a tremendous effort, it was almost inspirational, "For God's sake, why?"

"Just scoot! Please! GO! go!"

This was a little ridiculous.

The woman's frustrated gurgling was interrupted by the door flying open. He moved, faster than she anticipated sending her crashing into the dark space behind him. If Ultron didn't like her being up close before, well, he should hate this. The woman was smashed against his body, her shorter, thicker form literally flat on him. The A.I did not want to wash the lipstick off his chest.

"Shit-fuck!" She yelled, scrambling to get off. Her leg managed to stuck under his, the human's entire face squished against his front as her hands flailed from purchase on either Ultron or the stacked sheets. He was almost surprised, having to bite a metaphorical tongue to hold back a comment on her large nose bending like that. It was impressive, maybe a solid 90 degree angle.

"Simone!" Was that one Annalise or Ellie? Ultron didn't care, he was currently preoccupied trying to extract the woman from around his thigh. He could feel her body temperature and sticky skin, the constant up and down of her ribs, he wanted it off and soon, "Girl, where are you?"

Ultron really didn't appreciate this.

"Bad." He scolded, quickly wrapping his hands around the woman's upper arms and shoving her from the closet. Thankfully she was quick to recover, Ultron liked to take some credit for desensitizing the woman to surprises, and slammed the door in front of him. Dark.

The A.I definitely wasn't a fan of the new hideout, the basement was much better. He shouldn't of been trying to snoop, but then again, Simone should know better than to barge in with other people, especially if she wanted to keep them uninvolved. He leaned forward, dimming the glow of his eyes in case the light became a beacon for curiosity and listened.

"What's in there?"

"Junk, it was laying around where it shouldn't've."

Something fell to the ground, a soft thud and the clink of loose metal: a purse, they were getting comfortable. Ultron really didn't want to stay in the closet all night.

"You can just leave it out, you know, It's not like I don't know you're messy."

Ultron heard shuffling, the shorter woman straightening out her red dress. He briefly hoped she'd peel off those stupid heels, Simone was not coordinated enough for those, plus she could probably through them at him. He didn't like when she threw things.

Ultron leaned towards the sliver of light leaking from the doorframe. If he didn't have a fraction of self control the A.I would've jarred backwards in surprise. Ellie was right there, hovering near the door and staring directly at him, "Usually Christmas lights go outside."

Simone grunted, the pointed shoes scuffing the floor, "They're defective, you know the ones sing carols and shit? This one sounds like a wailing demon."

She didn't sound like an angel either.

The A.I saw the woman's pale eyes narrow, brows pressed forward. 'Turn around, for God's sake turn around,' he thought. The last thing he needed was to deal with two more frantic humans, one, or at least Simone, was enough. The boney woman frowned and sighed before turning away from him, Ultron didn't really think he was the kind of guy to get the heebie-jeebies but that brought him close.

"I think your coat's in the living room, actually, we should probably-"

"So what about that guy?" Annalise, he figured, cut her off.

A guy? That was new. The A.I knew about _Chad_ , but unless his idea of flirting was completely off mark(unlikely) there was no evidence of another man in her life. Interesting, he could pester her about it later if he wasn't caught.  
Simone laughed, it was forced and short, "There's no guy!"

A skeptical hum was her response,"Wasn't there someone living with you? Anger issues?"

Oh. _OH_ , it was _him_. Ultron would never admit he was shocked, not till the day he died. Curiosity started swallowing the tension locking his mind in a net, this the A.I had to hear.

"He's fine?" Strong response, definitely believable, hell, it probably could go through a lie detector and fail miserably. Good job, Simone.

"Details, sweetie, or you're making biryani."

"I can't cook."

"Exactly, so spill."

Simone sighed, he could envision her either rubbing her palms or the bridge of her nose in frustration, "He's… Fine, really, still don't know what to make of him, don't know if I want too."

Well, at least Annalise knew how to make the other human do what she wanted. Back her into a corner so she has to act, Ultron would remember that.  
"Sim…," Sad, that's how the woman sounded, not angry or not disappointed, he didn't understand. Simone was keeping information from her, why not be angry? They were supposed to trust each other, and if his landlord had given off anything, it was that they were like siblings. It didn't add up, and he was amazing at math.

"It's-," She sighed, "Hard to explain, I'm giving him a chance, hell, chances, like you wanted. Everything's changing like it's some big puzzle board and I don't know where I fit, let alone if I too."

That was… Surprisingly well crafted for one of her metaphors, and it brought to mind something he failed to even think of(again, not that he'd ever admit it). She was a factor, a pawn in his game, but Ultron didn't stew over the specifics, well, not until now. What would happen to Simone when he was done? Would HYDRA take her? Would the woman live her life like it had been or would the Avengers kill her?

Ultron figured this was something like the urge to puke, not that it was physically possible, just the sensation. He didn't like this feeling, but the realization that the merry band of misfits might just do that made him… uncomfortable. That was it, definitely. He didn't want her dead, Simone had been useful, surprising, entertaining sometimes, and overwhelming frustrating. It would be unfair to throw her to the dogs like that. Not to mention it would bring him down to their level, something Ultron never would allow himself to do, he was better than that.

The A.I quickly decided he'd just up and leave, preferably at a clique time like the dead of night. What could he say? Ultron always did appreciate the classics. A dark escape would also save him the trouble of dealing with a goodbye tantrum.

He very quickly wanted to punch himself in the face. What did he care? If his plan succeeded, she'd be a goner like the rest of the pitiable race the woman belonged too. 'Just ignore it, save it for later,' Ultron coached himself mentally.

"I don't like that sound of that, Sim-ulator."

She snorted, he could imagine her arms crossed and eyes rolling, "I don't like that nickname."

"Alright, fine, I'll drop it, just know I'm here for you, alright?" There was a pause, probably something meaningful happened but he was too tense to look through the crack, "Just, oh lord, Simmy, if anything's wrong tell me? I love you, and we're both here for you-"

He heard a chocking sound.

"Ellie! Stop, no ,Simone she doesn't mean that! Ellie!"

Simone laughed, that same gravely, thick sound from the bottom of her throat, "No, choke me, it'd be a favor."

"Don't encourage it!" Annalise shrieked, the sounds of her feet stomping echoed in the closet, "Call me, Skype me, email me, just let me know you're alive every now and then, kay? I've seen your diet."

"Alright, that's harsh. It takes a lot of calories to keep my face this beautiful." He almost laughed, almost.

"Just, keep in contact?" The trio started walking away and the A.I sagged in relief, "Text, call, again, you know I'm open. Don't text Ellie, don't do anything of that to her, she won't answer. Drink water, not just coffee, I know there's water in it but it's not the same."

"Thanks, mother."

Annalise sighed, "Sorry, sorry, I just worry. Now, where's the jacket?"

Shuffling, banging, the purse getting picked up from the floor and a series of dramatic goodbyes. Finally, the door closed and he could've sworn Simone slumped against the slab of wood and pushed all the air from her stout body.

Light.

He looked down, there she was looking a little too frazzled for anyone's sake. The human almost grabbed his hand before pulling back like he would burn to the touch, and gestured for him to follow behind. Simone crashed against the couch, arms behind her and lap open, the pose was more exaggerated than comfortable.

"Yikes," And then she started laughed.

Ultron didn't understand her, maybe it was adrenaline, maybe the situation or the fact that he'd been stuffed in a close like a discount vacuum cleaner, but he would've smiled if he could, or laughed if he was relaxed. Neither were an option.

"Can't say I'm a fan of close calls," He said, walking slowly over to wall for something to lean on.

She snorted again, head jarring back, "Then you're in the wrong business."

"Touché." Simone was definitely getting more comfortable around him, a few weeks ago and she wouldn't have dared mention his… career choice. Hell, she even touched him by her own violation, that was new. The day went from dull to exciting very fast, "Have fun with your pagan holiday? I didn't know you were religious."

"I'm not, not really my thing," She said, kicking off her black shoes under the table. Those would be there for a while, the woman was undoubtedly going to forget them, "But it was good, thanks for asking."

He shrugged, remembering there was a little alcohol in her system still and information would be easier to fish out. Might as well go back to the old plan since the new one was a bust, "Don't mention it… But-"

The A.I honed his gazed on her, assessing for any change in her position, heartbeat, or temperature, "Why not spend it with your family."

"She is family."

He sighed, "Biological."

"Mom lives too far away," Stretching the woman popped joint in her back in the process.

Ultron shuddered at the sound.

"That's disgusting," Simone grinned and twisted her torso in a way that almost looked painful, using the back of the couch to pull her spine along, "Ugh, you really are mature."

Mming happily she went to her fingers instead, popping them each individually, "What if one just snapped off, what would you do then?"

Her hands lowered, the bemused expressing falling from the dilated pupils and flushed cheeks. Oh no, the human was going to be 'serious'. Drunken mood swings were an anomaly he was thankful he'd never experience, "What if you told me why you're being nice…ish, nicer? Not a giant metal asshole?"

Never mind she was was the apposite of eloquent and hated every turn off phrase she made.

"I-"

"Wait! Wait!" She got to her feet and took a few steps closer, "Let me guess, and tell me if I'm being rude, I've been told that happens… but, you want something!"

Well, she wasn't wrong. The A.I was still a little on edge from being called out like that, "Well, Sherlock, what am I after?"

Her entire face crushed in a grotesque fashion, "Trust? Use me? Maybe to know shit?"

Simone definitely wasn't wrong, and that's what upset him. He wasn't supposed to be that transparent, was he this bad with the twins? If that was the case it was their sub par English and pure luck he got by as long as he did. That was not a good thought, "Can't I just be friendly? We do live together."

"No."

"Why n-"

 _Knock. Knock._

The door was opening, Simone's eyes bugged and she pointed harshly to the couch. Her frantic expression conveyed what she wanted well enough: _duck_. And he did, Ultron, the world's first and second most advanced A.I dove like a quarter for a piece of furniture. It was, all in all, not a very dignifying experience. It happened just in time, however, as the door opened right when he managed to tuck himself in a ball, free from sight.

"Simone?" It was Chad. He would kill him. Ultron would strangle the life from that desk jock's button up throat before he had time to blink and shove the pair of crooked glasses down the human's raspberry tinted larynx. Maybe that was a little dramatic, Ultron didn't really care.

"What the _fuck_ are you doing here?!" Simone yelled, he heard something rub against metal. It was the bat, he realized. He was delighted.

"I tried to call-"

"It's fucking Christmas! You think I'm gonna pick up when I'm with company!? I'm an asshole but I'm not that rude!" She groaned loudly, guttural and aggravated, the tin from the bat tapping the door, "Give me one reason why I shouldn't beat the shit out of you and call the cops right now."

Well this was definitely a new side of her, Ultron was so proud.

"-For the past three days."

"Shit." The A.I agreed.

I'm sorry, God," She laughed, "Wow, I really am an asshole, like, this is a whole new level. Damn, I… that still doesn't explain why you're here."

"I was worried, you're a beautiful woman out here by yourself. "

One, she wasn't alone, two, way to make feminism suffer. Ultron was getting more reasons to throttle the persistent man into oblivion with every word.

"Alright, well, I'm not going to pretend that wasn't breathtakingly sexist."

"No! No,no,no! That's not what I meant, what I mean is I was worried something happened because you didn't pick up…Like you were, uh, kidnapped."

"Look, this isn't the Taken trilogy, and you're no Liam Neeson, I really-" He heard shuffling, never a good sign, "-Something in there you wanna see?"

Ultron started getting a bad feeling in his metaphorical gut. This was the fourth time Simone had 'accidentally' run into him, and she complained every time, but that was beside the point. He was persistent, Ultron didn't trust persistent, especially when the woman kept saying no. The A.I would learn more about him, it was decided.

"No, sorry! You just always act like something's secret in there."

"I cook meth." She deadpanned, "It's my _house_ , I don't know you."

"We went to college together!"

"I don't remember."

He heard Chad sigh, the A.I needed a plan, the niggling feeling that the he was an agent started to sprout. The woman didn't know him, he was unyielding, trying it get in, it was probably paranoia, but Ultron was too close to being done with the First Step for it fail by negligence.

"Then let's start over! A date, you and me… We can, uh, make new memories?"

If he was an agent, he was either brilliant or about to get fired. Ultron had a plan, but he needed two things from the woman. He raised his leg and slammed it to the ground, the startling bang cutting Simone off from whatever she was about to say.

"Please hold." She flung to the door closed in his face and scurried over to the A.I, "What?"

"Say yes."

Simone balked, blinking at the A.I like she was deeply offended, "No?! Have you seen his teeth?"

"I know, I know, you'd have hideous children,"He said, "He may be a… how do I say this without you freaking out?"

"It's to late I'm freaking out, I'm definitely freaking out and you're not helping." Sweat was beading on her brow now, her chest started to stuttered with the pair of panicking lungs.

"It's the thought that counts," Ultron sighed, "He may be an agent."

His hand was over the woman's mouth on the first inhale, cutting off a shocked 'WHAT?!'. Ultron felt her drooling on the metal palm, and shuddered, the human body was an atrocity. The A.I leaned closer, brown eyes watching his every move, "Think of it as mutually beneficial, I scratch your back, you scratch mine. I'll do a background check before you go, and we'll see if he makes a move."

She wasn't buying, from the expression he was given, so the A.I added cheerily, "And if you go and he's as boring as he acts, just be yourself and it will be so outstandingly horrible he'll never ask again!"

A whine vibrated across his hand before he pulled it away and whipped the saliva on her couch. Ultron needed her to do this, it would ensure both of their safety, but the A.I wouldn't be surprised if she backed down. The woman wasn't known for her bravery, a few incidents sure, but her overall character? Simone was overflowing with unbridled fear.

"Yes." Today was apparently one of those incidents, "Fine, I'll do it."

"That, my dear, is exactly what I like to hear!" Ultron liked cooperative Simone, she should be around more often. The A.I urged her to stand, ignoring the woman's hand flapping open and closed in rude mouth gesture. Cooperative and happy didn't go together, it seemed.

"Stay behind the couch."

He did, happily, listening to the woman give her 'old friend' a yes for their date and scheduling for later in the evening. Ultron wasted no time bounding from the furniture shield and into the office, he had work to do, and the woman had liquor to flush out.

His good mood died, shriveled up and rotted like a corpse left in the sun. Chad wasn't real, a HYDRA pigmentation for a purpose that was all to obvious. Find him. He had to stay calm, Simone would lose her mind, refuse to go out. Ultron briefly entertained the idea of canceling their plans and keep her safe. No, he had to do this. The A.I needed to know how serious HYDRA was, and if Simone played the game it might put them off target.

Ultron watched her leave, taking the cab with her large leaf covered jacket pulled taught. He was putting her in harms way and… regretted it. Guilt, maybe? It was for the greater good, Ultron reminded himself, her lifespan was already puttering out, it didn't matter. She'd be fine, if the woman in her five foot glory could get the upper hand on him a HYDRA agent was nothing. Unless they had a gun, or reinforcements. What if they tried using her against him, but then again, it could just be a ploy to get him out of the house. No, no that didn't make sense, they'd want to kill him first, so staying here would be the most dangerous right?

The A.I groaned, he was following her.

Ultron covered himself in her clothes, baggy sweatpants and a sweatshirt with a fetching pair of goggles over his optics and scarf over his face, the whole ensemble was very flattering. He locked the door behind him, for whatever good it did, and pursued the cab.

The town was blissfully empty that night, the small Italian bistro the humans had agreed on casting a warm glow on the snow stacked against the sidewalks and tumbling lazily from the sky. There wasn't time to appreciate the scenic environment, in fact, there wasn't much time to do anything, like talk himself back to woman's home, or realize what an idiot he was being for coming out. Right before there was time for those thoughts, Simone came storming out, the light that had been warm a few seconds before made her anger even more potent.

"Just get away from me!"  
"Simone!" The man came stumbling after the short woman, all done up in a nice suit and tie. The drifts of powder were unkind on his lanky form, making him stumble after her as they traveled the sidewalk. Ultron lingered, hiding behind the backs of stores, dumpsters, anything to keep from prying eyes but them in view, "Wait, please!"

"No! You're-You're!" She kept marching, making it hard for Ultron to keep up with her and stay hidden at the same time, "I'm done! You're racist, sexist, and fucking homophobic, why would I stay around that?"

He reached, trying to grab the crook of her elbow, "I said I'm sorry, I-"

She whipped around, snowflakes catching on her eyelashes as she refused to stop staring down the man above her, "Sorry doesn't fix shit!"

"I'm-"

"Just shut up! Shut up, Chad," She snapped, "Go live your life, you're not important to mine."

The lanky figure leaned down, clasping his arms around hers. The woman tensed, refusing to back down from whatever the human was trying. Ultron crouch, hiding behind a parked van, stacked with a frosting of white to watch, interested in how it' would play out, "But _you're_ important to mine, I'm a part of big things, Simone, I want to make the world a better place and protect it from evil, a guard, always growing with every strike from the enemy, always recovering, becoming a better whole, and I need your help to do that."

He was on the ground.

Simone landed her shin in-between the man's legs, the woman's whole body jerking from the force of the kick. If the A.I said he wasn't vaguely impressed, he'd be lying.

"Recover from that." She spat, and ran.

Ultron ducked and chased after her as she ran into a post office, making a call he realized. She clutched the payphone close to her body, folding in around herself and the clothe pulling against her fisted hands. Simone wasn't crying, but she was breathing, labored, gasping, and it only stopped for half a second when she saw him stand across from the road.

"What are you doing here?" The woman asked,looking over her shoulder as she left the building, most likely looking for her date-mate.

"Insurance," He offered, taking a step closet to her, pupils wide from what he knew was fear. Her staggered puffs of air were all that filled the silence between his words, "Someone had to make sure you didn't get yourself killed."

"HYDRA-"

"Doesn't know about you." He said, "Simone, look at me, that man is a cultist, a neonazi pig, but not HYDRA, you have my word."

"But the things he said-"

"He was clean."

He figured this was probably the situation where someone would put a hand on the others shoulder for reassurance or something like that, but that wasn't in Ultron's range of capabilities. The A.I watched her, Simone's breathing wasn't doing any better, the white of her eyes flashed, body shaking and knees clanking. Frightened, again. It amazed him that someone this easily shakien, this fragile, had managed to survive as long as she had.

"Tha-" She stopped, swallowing what was no doubt the urge to vomit, "-Th-Thanks. Thank you, Ultron."

He wasn't sure if anyone had said those words to him before, but they seemed genuine. The A.I didn't know how to respond to that, what did she expect? A knightly 'think nothing of it'? Because it was something, Ultron wasn't the kind of person to do this kind of thing, let alone receive recognition for it.

Ultron looked down the dark road, most of the town was closed, asleep, or getting ready for the next day but the pair of yellow headlights approaching the pair told him it was time to leave, "I'll meet you back at the house."

She nodded, frantically boring her head in short little spurts as the A.I walked away. It was going to be a long night, he decided, progress had to be made and Simone needed to be left behind. It was getting too personal, to close, and HYDRA was picking up on his trail. He didn't know what they were planing, if they were responding to him or making a foolish scheme of their own, but one thing had become abundantly clear:

Ultron was running out of time.

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 **wow holy shit this was hard to write? but I rlly wanted to give it a go and slip a little into his perspective? haha yikes?**

 **Thanks again for reading! please review it means the world! xoxoxo**

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 **REVIEWS:**

 **thanks to analin, Anuhdahperson, redtailhawk19(thank so much!), and guest! My angels...**

 **Sorona3: no! haha it's a good thing they mean the world 2 me ur so kind xoxo! and a little more on him in this chap ;^) tbh i don't think Ultron even knos all of his motivations 83% of the time but tries to justify himself in the best 'kool kid' way possible. BUT THANK U ! So much! and the Liar is coming! they just need a friendly push first lmao**

 **LVOWL: AAAN GGGOD!? THat means so much SO MUCH thank u thank u ! Holy christ? Ur bad vibes r correct, nailed it! And he'll rear his ugly head again. Ahaha think of it as a ... 'i have no idea how to approach u after this.. what r we?' kinda deal then plus some. And yeah?! Honestly Ultron does a lot of fucked up stop that im definitely going to address b/c theres SO MUCH and it makes me so happy u notice all that stuff like DAMN!? XOXO i love ur reviews so MCUH THANK U THANK U!**


	12. Give Me a Sign

**Authors note:RLLY IMPORTANT MESSAGE AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS CHAPTER. like a disclaimer but anyway. Sorry this took for freaking ever i've had to work over time every week since last chapter and my dads trying to sue my mom(haha yikes) and some other neurodivergent shit tha one cares about so anyway enjoy :^)**

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Another nightmare. The same thing, twisted, bent, mauled, and reformatted into a vaguely different brand of hell. Simone's fingers skimmed the gooseflesh of her arms afraid they would would melt away like ash. The teeth were still there; hotter, brighter, five copies of the same maw dripping with poisonous magma. The jagged menagerie of shattered bone didn't set spit through her veins like before, now it just _burnt_. A hot, unimaginable fire turning her bones to dust, her skin, her hair, her blood, all evaporated into the nothingness. It spread, an infestation of embers crawling and invading her body till there was nothing left save for the dust, the pain, and the fear.

 _BANG_.

She jolted and looked towards the door. A crash, a loud and incredibly angry crash coming from the office. Two guesses who it was. Groaning the woman pulled herself out of bed, throwing out the thought that ignoring his temper tantrum was an option. He made a point to go out of the basement for his melt down, it was obviously important he received justification, not that Simone would give it to him.

Prying free of the white blankets she was barely conscious of getting pants and slippers over her sluggish body. It felt like someone poured a bucket of molasses down her throat. Ultron had gotten home late last night, stomping in the house and straight to the Lair, no doubt assuming she was asleep. Instead she was wide awake and staring at the ceiling being way to philosophical for 3 A.M.

Was he actually worried about her, or was it protecting an investment? Did he lie about Chad not being HYDRA? That name was leaning on to horrible to be real, but if Ultron was fibbing… why would he? She didn't know, hell, shuffling across the hall she thought maybe the A.I actually cared about what happened to her, maybe not, it was kind of optimistic. There was no guarantee and asking wasn't an option, Ultron didn't exactly come off as the 'true to your feelings' type of guy.

Simone pushed open the door, a tentative half step planted her inside, "Ultron?"

He looked tense. The woman didn't even know robots could _be_ tense, but there he was and stiff as a board. Trash was confettied across the room, a ruined trash can in the epicenter, he probably threw it. Simone was silently thankful that's all the damage done, until she saw the hole. He punched through the wall adjacent to him. She couldn't bring herself to be surprised, "What's wr-"

"Get out."

The A.I was clutching his arm, like it was wounded, the mass of bent metal twitching beneath his grasp. Something was off, very, very, off and it was freaking her out.

"What's wrong?" She asked. What could've pissed him off this bad? Half the office looked like a tornado ripped through it and the trash bin was warped into a useless hunk of tin next to the bookshelves. Simone knew Windows 7 wasn't an amazing program but, Jesus Christ, it never drove her that far.

"GET. OUT," His fists slamming against the faux wood desk, sending a lamp and paperweight clattering to the ground. Simone didn't understand. His tone was an amalgamation of one part panic, two parts nerves, and another part rage. She didn't like panic, the feather weight taste of apprehension and fear balancing on the tip of her tongue, and now he was feeling it. Ultron, metal, dangerous Ultron. That was a very bad thing and usually for her health.

The woman nodded passionately and slammed the door in front of her, pretending to ignore how his hand still twitched.

It reminded her of a squished bug. It's limbs flicking like they had a mind of their own, a neural shock sending the spindly legs into spasms as the life drained out. Simone tugged on her sweatshirt, pulling the fabric over her fingertips. She didn't want to think of Ultron like that. He was alive, for now, everything else was up in the air. It was probably just a systems error, or something, anything like that. The woman wasn't a mechanic, her repituar was building a potato battery in middle school, not something as advanced as an A.I. It was Ultron's problem, and slowly dragging herself into the kitchen, she'd let it stay that way.

Cereal, eat, wash bowl. Everything tasted bland. The hand glued to the front of her mind like a grave marker. Maybe he was dying, slowly, eventually, dripping free into oblivion. She couldn't let herself think like that, like she cared, like there was more to this than a means to an end.

But it was.

She hated it, almost as much as she hated herself for letting it get that way. They were supposed to be in reverse, Ultron caring and her indifferent. A little voice in her head telling her that was karma, but she didn't believe in that stuff. Tarots and palm readings couldn't explain what an unimaginable idiot she was being.

Simone didn't know what was happening to him, she didn't want too, but she did know that time was running out. Stress at 9 o'clock in the morning was not something she was capable of handling. It made her fidgety, the need to act ran dominant in her mind. She threw a spoon at the wall, groaning.

Why couldn't Ultron just stay normal, for him at least? She didn't need him panicky, it would make him violent, desperate, even more of a nightmare then he already was. Her fingers weaved through locks of knotted hair. A distraction, that's what the woman needed, and that's exactly what she had.

Ultron's gift found itself migrating from the closet to the dead center of the living room, impossible to miss. She was thankful the A.I didn't see it, or hadn't mentioned it, when he was shoved in the same dark corner. It was a small miracle, but she'd take it.

And so she waited… for an hour. She had no idea how he managed to sit in the room that long, but it was impressive, and boring. The woman found herself laying across the couch listening to the the television like a beached sea star until a flash of industrial grey appeared in the corner of her eye.

"Better?" She asked tentatively, adjusting her position and sitting upright on the cushions. He didn't move, didn't look at her, but kept his eyes trained on the door.

"I'll say yes." Ultron spared the tall box on the coffee tablet a glance, she almost missed it, "What's that?"

"Yours." He didn't reply, it made her squirm. The A.I was normally so much more talkative than this, teasing, bullying, but not quite. Simone wanted it to stop, "Merry late pagan holiday."

If he snorted, laughed, or sighed, she didn't hear it. The A.I moved his body to face her fully, and the object in question, "What are you talking about?"

"It's a present. Merry Christmas."

The A.I had never looked so dumbstruck in his life and Simone didn't know if that was hilarious or sad. She just wanted him to take it or blow it up, crush her neck or feelings, anything but stare. The quite was…stifling. She wanted to fill it and had a feeling he did too, but neither knew how. It was foreign territory, and the humbling realization that this might've been the first 'nice' thing anyone's done for the A.I made it uncomfortable.

Ultron took a tentative step closer, "I don't…I…well-"

This needed to end, _now_.

"Don't mention it," She rose to her feet, stepping around him and behind the counter wall like a barricade, pretending to busy herself with dishes, "It's nothing."

That snapped him out of it.

"Well obviously it's something, I mean," He laughed, stiff, forced, obviously fake, "It'd be a horrible gift otherwise."

She dropped a bowl, cursing as the glass erupted on the tile like a glass firework, "Just don't burn the house down, Data, and we'll be good."

"Data?" He asked. Ultron was next to it now, the woman hadn't bothered with wrapping paper, it was only a matter of finding the product label, "A blow torch? I'll try my best, no promises."

"Star Trek. He's a robot."

"Brilliant, I don't know how you manage to be this unoriginal."

She shrugged, rolling the A.I's remark off her shoulders. Ultron was in one of his moods, she partially hoped it was because she threw him. It wasn't everyday a homebody got to surprise a Mechanical Masochist, she'd chalk it down as a victory, but a dangerous one, "At least we have one thing in common."

"Ugh," He shuddered, gathering the new toy in his arm and resting it over the jut of his hip. The A.I moved, navigating around the furniture and back towards the garage, "Don't flatter yourself."

"It's an insult."

"I didn't notice," He said sarcastically, letting his head tip to the side.

Ultron didn't bother slamming the door as she swallowed a faint grin pulling at her lips. No. She wouldn't find the banter funny, entertain, amusing, or any synonym for 'not unbelievably horrible. Simone forget to feel nervous, her breath didn't pick up, the tingling of jittery nerves never sprouted in her ribs, and it was terrifying. Of course she knew Ultron was dangerous, unpredictable, and insufferable at best, but it was getting all to easy to forget why he was here even if it was for a few seconds.

There was a documentary on Animal Planet when she was in the fifth grade about a couple who tamed big cats and orangoutangs. They forgot themselves. Forget they were dealing with creatures who weren't bred for hundreds of years to exhibit loyalty, that nature is intentionally cruel, uncontrollable, and an unparalleled bitch. They thought that just because the animals, with all their spear-point teeth, with all their claws, hadn't hurt them yet, it would never happen. The pair got lazy, sloppy, carless, and forgot the all-encompassing variable that decided if you'd gravitate towards dead or alive. They were wild and demanded to be treated as such.

Just like Ultron. A predator sleeping on the musty concrete of her basement, yes there was a mutual relationship, a mutual desire: survival. But what the A.I wanted was more than that. He played for vengeance and it cruel, icy, and wholly inescapable. It made him angry, it made him anxious, it was breaking the robot apart and putting a one way ticket to hell in his open palm.

The man and women lost themselves in chance, by trusting creatures that only a handful of the sacred few would. Simone knew this was happening to her. She was letting her promise be an excuse to get along, to forget who and what he was. She was going to end up like the couple unless she stayed aware.

Ultron would kill her if she forget, if she excused anything and everything he did. From hurting her, throttling her body against the wall, chocking, scratching, all of it. She'd teach him, the woman had no reason not too. Simone just couldn't let herself forget, to get to attached.

It didn't take him an hour before he sauntered back upstairs. She was planted firmly on the couch, sprawled out like washed up sea star. Her neck went from bent towards her show and the looming A.I.

"I want to learn signal."

"Signal?"

He sighed, propping a hand against his waist and waving dismissively with the other, "Sign, teach me your finger language."

Was he serious? Simone twisted over to sit with her legs crossed, "For real?"

He nodded, " A Christmas gift from me to you."

Thanks Santa, it's what she always wanted: A VIP pass to be in contact with Humanity's Parole Officer for extended periods of time, spectacular. She just had an internal monologue about why this was a _bad idea_ , "Why?"

Ultron snorted, slinking from one side of the room to the next before lowering himself on a worn lounge chair, "Is there anyone else to do it?"

The woman pulled a face, he couldn't keep putting her at beck and call like this, first the date and now this. If Simone had to do something before it became a habit. Something in return, she decide, what'd Ultron say a couple weeks ago? Qid pro Quo, that's right. Her forearms moved to rest over her thighs as she spoke, "Tell me what's wrong with your hand an' I'll do it."

"It's not your problem," He said drolly, "You wouldn't understand in the first place."

She rolled her eyes. Secrets were fine, she understood that, Simone kept plenty of her own and he did the same. The only thing that kept her from brushing the whole situation under the rug was that she'd seen it, and it broke her crap, too. She was only a little upset about that, or a lot, the woman didn't know any estimates but the damage of a broken wall would be expensive, "Then dumb it down."

"I could just make you, you know that right? I don't need to ask."

A wince almost forced its way to the surface, she forced the reflex down. Ultron really needed to figure out the whole navigating conversations thing, being a bossy infant wasn't working out. But he wasn't the only one that could act like a five year old, so Simone slapped on the most annoying voice she could muster and tossed caution to the wind.

"I could just call the Avengers, you know that right? I don't need to wait."

He stiffened and so did she, only with a whole new appreciating for the term 'dangerous territory'. Ultron was doing the calculating stare again, the one she hated, the one that made her feel like an example. Maybe he was deciding whether or not to tackle the loudmouth human for the hundredth time, it wasn't unlikely.

The A.I didn't move, and it started to feel less like he was looking at her over looking through her. Simone fidgeted, grinding her hands against each other even though they were sandwiched between her thighs. She cleared her throat, for her benefit or to gain the A.I's attention, both were plausible, "Was that a low blow? I can't tell sometimes, the good ole verbal filter is a little, um… musty so m-"

"Shut up."

She blinked, that was rude but it wasn't physically abusive, she'd take it.

"If you absolutely _have_ to know, you godless harpy, it's…" He trailed off, looking to the far left at a picture of baby Simone dressed up in a sari. That was the first time she'd been to India, she barely remembered it, "…A glitch? No, no, think of it like a cup, you know that is, don't you?"

"No." She said, face blank. The A.I turned to back to her, and snorted.

"Then a bottle, since you're so devoted on poisoning yourself…" The A.I paused, shifting in the chair so his arms were against its sides and he rest his back against the cushion, it was all very faux casual, "Unless I'm reading the drinking alone at 3 A.M. situation incorrectly, in that case, my bad."

'Then you try living with a Tony Stark's prodigal son and not break down every five minutes, asshole,' she thought bitterly, "The point?"

"In layman's terms, this shell or… prison? It's too full, overflowing, but trying to stay contained simultaneously. A drone wasn't meant for my full consciousness this long."

"You didn't expect your big boy body would get wrecked?"

"Not entirely no." He said, "Apparently I was wrong to believe an indestructible metal would live up to its name."

She almost laughed at him, facing down five or more of the world's most dangerous individuals and he didn't have a backup? Ultron really did expect to win, one point for humanity and half a point to Asgard, for Thor's sake.

Simone shrugged and moved to lay parallel on the couch while glancing at Netflix series that was never paused. Now was as good a time as any to ask about the extra drone, if Ultron was leaking out of the current body like water in a bad pipe, why not just spread out in the two of them? Better yet, where in hell's name was the Twin Terror? It wasn't her place to ask, not that he'd spill the beans, Ultron was in a… passible mood, she'd keep it that way.

"There's a blue box in the basement, s'full of all my old book and stuff. Bring it up when you want to get at it."

Ultron rose to his feet, "I'll keep that in mind."

"You do that," She said dismissively, mashing the rewind button. That was close to as a 'you can leave now' as Simone would get, but judging by the A.I's receding footsteps, he got the point.

For thirty whole minutes.

Waiting wasn't an option for an impatient program. He strutted his shiny metal ass in front of her and dropped the cardboard box on the floor. She wanted to scream and bash her head in at the same time, even though his 'be uncomfortably nice to Simone' plan had changed, he was still being persistent. The A.I didn't even bother with responding to the look of are you serious plastered across her face before she went digging for the first volume. There were flashcards, pop out books, and connect the dots coated firmly in crayons and markers. Ultron wouldn't need those anyway, she decided, putting them aside and telling him to sit down. It was going to be a long day, and dusting off the added red book with happy cartoon deaf children staring emptily back at her, they seemed to agree.

Except it wasn't.

Ultron was a frustratingly good learner, and after only a week of tentative cooperation, he was already better than she was after two years, not that he'd ever know it. But he could hold a short conversation without pause which was progress.

Sure,the process wasn't perfect, sometimes his hand would shake or an elbow would spasm and he thwack it against the floor without a word before carrying on signing, or occasionally get frustrated when his fingers couldn't bend right for a flawless alphabet. She only had a half-heart attack when he started getting frustrated, which was an improvement in retrospect. Simone wasn't surprised the robot was a perfectionist, but he was engrossed in the process and it was fascinating.

She'd never seen him get into something besides an argument before, or waxing erotic sonnets about peace via genocide. It was… scary, and definitely too, well, _alive_. The idea of him being an actual living being still made her fidget. Ultron was a robot, she had to remind herself, a very personable robot but that's what he is. He still wanted to snuff out humanity, he still wanted to kill _her_ (even if it was by association). But Simone forced herself to continue, even if he currently didn't want too.

"I can't do it."

The A.I threw his arms down in defeat, eying Simone defiantly, daring the woman to make a move. They'd spent the last hour trying to get out a single sentence and were at each others throats, but his fingers would tremble before every gesture. They were both frustrated, and Simone was driven to exhaustion.

"Is the mighty Ultron defeated?" She said running a hand through her hair.

"Yes. This is pointless, When am I ever going to use that?" He paused, tilting his head, "That's a rhetorical question, I _won't_."

"Try again." She signed.

"No."

Her hands kept going, "You could at least respond in ASL."

"I'd rather tear my arms off," He complained.

The woman frowned.

"Is a human language to difficult for you?" She goaded, trying to appeal to his pride.

"Je m'en fou," The Ultron snapped.

Simone didn't speak french, but it didn't take a genius to guess it was someting you wouldn't say to your mother. Instead she smiled, and gestured back to him, "Was that french for yes?"

"Ta gueule."

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear that. Could you sign it for me?" Her hands said.

Ultron was making this too easy.

"T'es rien qu'un petit connard," He sounded irritated now. The A.I's voice was nice in french, she decided, most likely because she couldn't understand it, Ultron was much less annoying this way, but she wouldn't keep pushing his buttons. Her hands fells to her lap to rest on the woman's leggings.

"Yes Simone, I was wrong, you're prettier and more talented than me." She said, flatly.

"Don't flatter yourself."

"Ha,don't worry. Just… come here, " Simone sighed, pushing herself out of her chair and leaning over the coffee table. They only had one more page before the chapter was finished and she could go to bed, he was going to say fire truck or she'd implode. Simone reached, ignoring the indigent demands of what she was doing by the A.I and snatched his hands, "Im putting your hand in the positions and you're gonna hold it there, got it?"

Ultron didn't say anything, but she took the stillness as permission to continue. A finger the other's bent to her touch almost willingly. It was funny, in a way, the illusion of metal hands being weaker then her's. They were warm, not cool like she expected, but had a faint radiating heat like an overworked computer.

She kept her eyes locked down, she didn't want to see Ultron analyzing her actions, but she knew he was having a hard time letting someone else help him, or at least that's what she guessed. The guy relied on himself for everything, information, backup, safety, now he needed a squishy human to guide him. It was mildly empowering.

His hands stayed when she let go, counting mentally to four Mississippi before starting again, bending the digits that only occasionally let up resistance and held again. She hummed, her brow only slightly pressed as the woman spoke, "Alright, good, you're doing it."

"Don't count your hatchlings till they're chickens."

She snorted, almost smiling till she felt a finger shake under hers. Not again, they were going to do this and she was going to laze out on the couch afterwards. Simone grabbed the finger and held it as still as she could, meaning it still twitched considering it was ten times stronger than her, and waited, "My chickens are going to live."

"How inspiring."

"I try my best," Simone said, bitting her lip. The seizing had calmed for the most part and he did a valiant job holding up the rest of the gesture. The woman was doing her best to ignore the silence between them, the fact that she was willingly helping _him_ of all people/robots, and nearly jumped in victory when the finger stopped dancing in the joint before jerking in the right pose.

"Be gentle." The robot chided as Simone stepped back to watch her hand-y work. Perfect, more or less.

"Do it without me."

He sighed, "Why are you so persistent about this?"

"Just do it."

And he did, without fault. She threw a relieved and impassioned good job his way before slamming the book closed and nearly dancing as Ultron left. That was brutal, but she did it, well, they did it, mostly her though. Simone couldn't fight the grin off her face as she sat down and brought the TV to life. Ultron didn't get away with the pouty kid act and she felt unbelievably accomplished, even if it was over a simple sign, it took hours. She deserved a badge, or a presidential speech, something great like that.

To bad the feeling couldn't last, because if life like teaching her one thing, it was that contentment was fickle bastard. And the recordings of fire burning and consuming everything in its path, the towering plumes of black smoke that tainted the grey sky like a scar, only worked to prove it. She swallowed, tiny people screaming across the screen's pixels and a worn down reporter covering her painted lips with a mask, she felt ice rage through her body.

There was another bomb. It was in Maine.

She tried giving Ultron more time, she tried giving him chances, and if the past week and let her believe anything it was he was more of a person then Simone thought possible. The A.I was so engrossed in learning, he had tried to hard and genuinely gotten upset when he couldn't do something right on the first go. She thought maybe he actually _cared_ , just a little. Maybe he did, maybe he wasn't guilty of the unchecked panic and fire playing out on news recordings. Maybe he was innocent and it really was HYDRA, but her brain couldn't process it.

Panic really was the only option she could choose at that moment. Ultron had to be innocent, screw the cab driver, screw the voice in the back of her head, and screw all the behavioral evidence saying he was the most likely suspect. She needed to know. Springing to life, she erupted from the couch in a flurry of harsh motions, not caring that a cup tipped to floor in her path. Simone screamed his named, clawing at the door nob for all she was worth. She'd respected his privacy for too long, but this was getting to close and even if Simone didn't know if the A. I was guilty, she did know one thing:

She was running out of time.

* * *

 **IMPORTANT STUFF:**

 **Gonna have some real talk rn about about Simone and Ultron. Lisa, u MVP, said this has essence of every abusive relationship ever. UR RIGHT! thank god im glad u noticed. like honestly i don't want anyone to think that the way Ultron treats Simone is a healthy relationship and if anyone is in a relationship where someone is physical, down talks you, isolates you,...basically whatever the hell he's doing GET OUT. Trust me, and if i can get personal w/ u kids both my parents are abusive, like, yikes level shit even if they're divorced i physically cannot escape but if you can please for the love of god do or message me IDK just im here for you. It fucked me up, like big time... eating disorders, personality disorders, speech impediments, no relationships, substance abuse, forced medication that one time... ITS A WRECK TBH. ... haha.**

 **I just feel ike everyone needs 2 kno that 1. this is currently not healthy, then again it is Ultron like... he is a jerk and has never had a healthy relationship in his life(NO EXCUSE THO HE BEIN SHITTY) 2. I am aware and this is not going to be a christian grey, unabashed, romanticized level of abuser. What Big Bad's doing is WRONG and he's going to learn that, hard core, big time, for the real world. 3. They are in no way going to enter in a relationship while he exhibits these behaviors, they are destructive, terrible, and no one deserves that and Simone knows it, hell, that's why she's been scared shitless of him for the last 41 thousand words.**

 **LESS IMPORTANT STUFF BUT STILL HELLA IMPORTANT BC I LOVE YALL:**

 **imma reply 2 ur reviews privately bc i figures out how after ten years but i've gotta do it tomorrow im sorry :^( I just really want to get this chapter out you all have waited so long but my life's been kicking me in the ass as of late :^/ Ill respond 2morrow but just THANK YOU! It means a lot especially when irl is so shitty rn XOXO**


	13. Hello Again, Old Friend

**Sorry this took literally a month!? My mom took my computer and put me back on meds while im working 50 hours a weak :^\ i suffer...**

* * *

Natasha Romanoff liked a lot of things, and hated even more. There was a mission gone right, a new gun, the thick squish and thud of a bullet making it's mark, or the bittersweet sting in her muscles after a workout. Then there were things she didn't like, that list was a little too extensive, but she could narrow it down to getting yelled at for doing the right thing.

Sighing she pulled a sweatshirt over her arms, bones clicking and ligaments screaming. This wasn't the good sore, this was a reminder, a mission gone wrong. They were supposed to extract intel, a HYDRA base that might have a scoop on Banner, the only thing they took out of it were bullet wounds. Well, Tony did, at least. Some prototype gun that nearly took off his arm. Or was it a laser? Canon? Specifics didn't matter, just that her… teammate, almost got himself deep fried by Neo-Nazis. It made tensions high, a reminder that even though they gained more allies, they were still scrambling and fragmented, and she might've let slip something she shouldn't have that…. well it didn't help.

The spy worked her way through the base, lingering behind corners at oncoming footsteps and voices. Conversation wasn't really on her mind. No, right now she was far to occupied with the fact that apparently no one else besides the green and red robot could see the big picture. That yes, what she did was wrong, but when an all-powerful A.I comes barreling down from the heavens yelling 'Hellfire! Hellfire! Hellfire!', you're more inclined to take the survival root over the morally sound one.

She should of just kept her mouth shut. She blamed Steve for implementing the idea that secrets can't be involved with trust, camaraderie, or any of that. But _oh no_ , as soon as the little old Russian tells everyone about her game, a game to insure they'd _win_ , it was suddenly bad to trust a bunch of adults not to freak out. Lesson learned. So now the Captain Meltdown was chasing the guy who put two bullets in her body, and threw him off a hellicarrier, angry at her.

Which left the woman to skitter around the base like a mouse in a box full of cats. She just wanted to run, a little exercise, maybe a pushup or two if her shoulder would stop acting up. Natasha stuck her thumb on the sensor, one, two, three scans and it flashed red. If she was one for vocal expression, she'd groan, but she wasn't. Tony had erased her ID from the databanks, meaning entry/exit doors, her room, well, basically everything but the kitchen was off limits until she was reinstated. Great.

If Stark wanted to act like a petulant child, fine, she'd let him. It wouldn't be too hard to make his life hell in return. Maybe jamming all his phones? Deleting a few accounts? She could fill the Iron Man suits with foam again, that was always fun.

Natasha loved games, except when they were designed to teach her a lesson, or at least try too. It made her spiteful and dreadfully unprofessional.

The few remaining Avengers weren't participating at least, just the billionaire. Wanda left to help relief efforts in Sokovia, PTSD, Insomnia, panic attacks, good practice for the girl and a positive sign she wouldn't flip the switch and go dark side. Natasha didn't like the hair though, she'd never tell her that unless asked, of course, but dark shades were definitely better on the girl. And Thor? Well, after her little bomb drop during the last mission, he didn't waste any time with the disappointed eyes and angry snort before flying away routine. Steve, the good ole spinster, saying he was made was an understatement. She pretended his 'I thought I could trust you' speech didn't effect her. It did. She hated it, it meant she was getting soft. She wouldn't mention mention Clint, he was still ignoring her.

So when she let slip that she may or may not have lead Bruce on, she may or may not have lied about 'feelings' so he'd stay for the final battle, only Vision understood. It wasn't much of a comfort. Yes, she played the Hulk, yes she lied about herself to him, but it was for the greater good! They couldn't have won without him, and Bruce was always the variable, the flake, and if she needed to keep his act together, she would.

Natasha slunk around the corner walking past a couple of techs from down stares whispering over coffee. They didn't spare her a glance, she preferred it, a hero's spotlight wasn't where someone with her background belonged, but it reminded her all too much of the treatment the rest of the team had given her.

The Russian shut her eyes briefly, inhaling through her nose as the light tap of her sneakers struck concrete. The building still smelt new, like unsettled dust, fresh plastic, and leather, perhaps a little too much Frebreeze to try and cover it up. In the hallway alone Natasha could spot 7 weaknesses a skilled assassin could exploit, 8 if you counted the decorative ferns. She learned a lot of thing in the Red Room, like now to never regret.

And she didn't. She played Bruce, she used his loneliness and self-resentment against him, but for everyone else. What kept him back when Wanda picked apart his brain? She did. What kept the Hulk under control? She did. And if Natasha had to do it again, she would. Saving lives and making the hard calls was her job. Steve was there, Tony was there, but what more are they than figure heads? They're easier to look at, to believe in. You don't tell your kids to idolize an ex-KGB assassin with so many hits she stopped counted(she didn't, it as just easier to distance herself that way, lying had always been easy, even to herself). So she'd make the dirty choices, the important ones, too.

Her ledger wasn't getting any smaller, but who cares when you have government funding?

Tony could suck it up, and she would go on that run. Screw the push ups, screw the squats, she just needed to move. So Natasha turned sharply, her rubber heels squelching against the smooth floor as she glided back to the entrance. Tony could call her a robot, Steve could act betrayed, Thor could play dutiful prince, she didn't care. The greater good doesn't always call for good deeds, she knew that, that all should. Kneeling next to the security interface Natasha plucked a bobby pin from her hair, it was too tight anyway, her scalp was starting to ache, and jammed it beneath the metal cover.

She hated flashing red lights.

"Miss Romanoff? If there Something I can assist you with?"

Her shoulders tensed before she recognized the automated voice of Tony's newest toy.

"Not anymore, Friday, thank you." She said blankly, reaching to her back pocket and pulling out her phone. He shut off more than her security access apparently, the WiFi and cell service were shut off. His loss, that hunk of glass and metal came out of his pay grade.

"Mister Stark has ordered me to restrict your access to the facilities. May I recommend the lounge, or perhaps, not defacing Stark Property?"

"You may not."

"I will contact security."

Natasha had to stop her self to rolling her eyes, "You will tell Stark to confront me personally if he has a problem."

She didn't care about finesse anymore, and cracked the mobile screen open against the ground. Picking at the insides till she found the battery. If she could thank Stark for one thing, it would be his habit of overpowering everything. She tugged one off the connected wires free and stuck it behind the interface.

"Miss Romanoff, pl-"

"That will be all, Friday." Natasha thumbed the phone to life and sat back to watch the fireworks, as the the machines grille each other.

She meant what she said, if someone had an issue with her, talk about it. Steve did it during the whole winter soldier debacle, even if she might have fucked their relationship over, she learned something from it: confrontation is good for unprofessionals. Natasha yanked the fried tech free and left it to sizzle on the tiles. Closing her eyes again she rolled her arm with a tight pinch along the shoulder blade. The doctors told her to go easy on it, but the woman needed stress relief, and she needed it now.

"You know, you could have just asked me for help."

Her fingers twitched, she stopped them from hurling a decorative plant at the voice. It was Vision, grinning down at her. Natasha popped her neck as she stood, savoring the relief after evenryjoint. "Not really my style."

The A.I made a contemplative hum, almost a laugh that twinkled beneath his eyes, "So I've noticed, but yet you're part of the Avengers?"

"Someone has too."

"Yes…" The robotic man's gaze drifted across the floor, his hands folded behind his back, over the cape, yellow was a nice touch, but the whole drapery thing? First Thor now Vision? If Clint was talking to her he'd probably say he wanted one. He nodded towards the mess of sparking wires, "Your work, I take it?"

She shrugged, shifting her weight from one hip to the next, hands in her pockets, "I'm not from IT, but blunt force has it's uses."

"I'll remember that if we have a disagreement,"He smiled, "I'd hate to be on your bad side."

This was the part where she'd gloat. Say something like 'oh, people don't stay there for long', or be clever. She wasn't in the mood. Like she said, it wasn't her style, it was Stark's. The A.I's brow pressed forward, looking her over. He wasn't even subtle. Then again, he wasn't trained since youth to figure out how to render someone inert in the first five seconds of contact. Vision just had this wise but naive curiosity about him that hung around like perfume. He was an optimist, she was a realist, Natasha wasn't jealous. Optimism led to disappointment.

"I did come here for a question, though, not that your hacking skills aren't impressive," Ah, here it is, the 'how could you lie to him, you monster' speech, not that everyone save for maybe Wanda or Sam, had gifted it to the assassin.

"Ultron had believed that doing the wrong thing would lead to a wholesome aftermath, and you had pitted against him as an enemy."

"-And you didn't?" Natasha interjected. She was being snappish, Vision wasn't perfect at social queues, she understood that, but the internal resentment for being psychoanalyzed was stronger than her patience.

The A.I's smile turned sad, "No, not really, not that I expect it to be mutual. Ultron, for all his miss givings, wasn't an enemy because I do not hate him. I do not condone his actions, never, but I do not resent what he was, or could of been."

He tilted his head, a painfully thoughtful look on his face. Vision was… different, and she wasn't sure if that was nativity or an incredibly rare outlook he shared. It took her a mere seconds to decide it wasn't important, "May I continue my original question?"

The woman nodded, arms now crossed in front of her.

"He sinned to do what he believed was right, and he is your enemy. Yet, I witness you do the same to your teammates, your friends? What does that make you?"

She sighed, "I do what I have to do to make sure everyone get's out alive, that's my job, that's the difference. Ultron wanted peace, in a way, that's our end goal, but as far as connections go that's it."

"Do you hate him?"

In all honesty, she wasn't sure. She hated Loki, he warped Clint, he scarred him, twisted his mind and played with it like some hellish marionette. He hurt her family, he almost made her break a promise, to get Clint back safely, and her chance of getting a kid named after her. It was personal with him, she hated Loki because he was weak, petulant, lying that he was strong and acting out because of a revoked birthright and identity issue. Congratulations, welcome to midlife crisis club, snack bar's on the left and here's your free T-shirt. But Ultron? It wasn't personal. He killed Pietro, but did she know the kid? Aside from the whole, killing humanity thing.

"Weakly, yes."

"It's hard to hate someone in pain, isn't it?"

But was he? Vision was soft on Ultron, everyone knew that, maybe because of them being the same breed, or the his lack of investment in one particular side.

"What's your point?" She shrugged. Spending time in that cell months ago wasn't fruitful, he had tighter lips than a thousand year old demi-god, and her whole reason for staying was to gather intel. So maybe she was a little sour about that, just a little. It made hate easier.

"Do you resent yourself?"

This conversation was not going where she wanted it too, "Why?"

"You lied, manipulated your friend in an intimate way, but for what you believed to be a safer result."

"If I didn't he'd have left, and we would've lost."

"So what's the answer?"

She turned, facing the door and wrapping her scarred fingers around the cool metal, scabs pulling against her skin. What did she say? I hate what I was turned into from decades of illegal experiments, brainwashing, and training? Did she say yes because she still remembered being pumped with endorphins every time she made a kill, and to this day sometimes she'll still get a rush? Did she say she's doesn't know what love is anymore because she turned it into a weapon? Do those things make her a monster? Does the fact that she's torn down regimes, that she's slept in the blood of people who loved her empty husk, that she's killed children, fathers, mothers, and rarely felt a thing, make her a monster? Does it make her hate herself?

No.

She hates what they did to her, that they took away her life, her happiness, and heart, and put something dead in its place. She hates that they desensitized death, the impact, and consequences that follow. But she's thankful, because those skills, her knowledge of every way to break a bone, to bend a conversation, to escape certain death and always get what you want kept her alive. Maybe the smell of blood and gore clings to her like a shadowy perfume, but she's learned to relish it.

Natasha frowned, "It's complicated." And pulled open the door.

There was a head in an Christmas wreath.

A head with dead, all too familiar eyes cut through the broken metal of the hollow cheeked skull, and a note hanging on its horn in a pretty red ribbon. Her stomach clenched, sweat tingling on the back of her neck as her ears buzzed and fingers twitched. The spy's heart almost changed the steady baritone, as she took as tentative step forward. Kneeling against the snow covered earth as she stared at the festive paper tied to the severed head.

It was Ultron's, and the note read:

 _'Did you miss me?_  
 _xoxo'_

* * *

 **Thank you so much for reading! sorry it's short? But i'd love to hear what you think! please review!**

 **Im quitting my job have my computer back so i'll have lots of time to update! thanks for reading! i love u all...**

 **looma: Thank you so much! you're honestly so sweet i cant believe it !? I lov... I lOV**

 **bullybullet:thank you!**

 **LVOWL: Ur computer is seriously possessed like idk man u might need 2 call a priest? And thank you! and you'll See! ahaaa. And is HYDRA behind it all? Who knows..? Honestly im so pumped to get him out of Death Trap Dron Body because 1. it's literally like... killing him, 2. JFC? That 8 feed of metal man? Im all about? And she does! Near Rengley, the bombing was about 6/7 hours away, so driving distance, or dron walking distance. And Updates will be more more frequent now that my computers back! if people r still reading lmao? its been a month holy shit. But thank you! MY HEART! THANK U!**

 **Sorona3: The shit if builing in2 a hurricane. and it was! First time holding hands everyone is very proud of how far we've come lmao And u should b worried about Ultron honestly like... at this point he's gonna need it bc im Not Nice. And thank you! i love headcannons and shit so.. .i have ... a lot... . but yeah! Thank you so much! THNK YOU !XOXOXOXOOOO**


	14. Numbing

**author's note at the bottom, 3**

She burst through the door like flood water with the living room light seeping in from behind, and right into a waiting Ultron. The ruby of his eyes staining the garage walls. His hand lingering as the wooden hatch slipped from his digits with a cruel bang. Simone's eyelids twitched at the harsh noise but never left the A.I across the room.

"Ultron." She breathed, charging towards him, enunciating each words in a faint whisper of air, "Ultron. Ultron. Ultron."

"What? For God's sake, what?"

He seemed disturbed, maybe curious? She could never make out tones well enough to notice fine emotion, but she hoped he was put off. She hopped the sight of numb, open eyes bothered him at a minimum. He needed to feel something besides angry, superior, or angry and superior, once in a while.

The woman's hands reached out like she was was going to grab his upper arms before she remembered what, or who, it was. They hovered up and and down, skittering along the space over Ultron's metal. She blinked and felt her throat clench in last minute regret and her hands snapped to her sides. She wanted to run, she felt vulnerable and suddenly unprepared. Simone swallowed, it was too late to back out now.

The woman swallowed one last time, plastering her hands against her sides, "I have- I have a question."

"For the love of-" He sighed, running a hand over his face, "What, Simone?"

Her arms cradled each other as she on gnawed her lip, it was now or never, "Did you blow it up?"

"You're going to have to be more specific," He said, head titling before laughing, "I mean, ha, I've got an commendable track record."

The noise that left her mouth was somewhere between a yell and groan, barely leaking past the back of her throat, "Just-Shit..Take this seriously, just once, alright?"

Ultron sobered, shifting his weight as the A.I's hands rested on his hips, left leg slightly skewed as his weight rested upon the right. It was a pensive stance, like greek statue meets dystopian cyberpunk wrapped up in a couple hundred pounds of asshole, "What happened?"

"27…27 schools, science centers,or _whatever_ they are," She pointed. Ultron could be oblivious socially, but not when it came to something encompassing his personal safety. He busted her ass enough times to get that point across, and there was something very relevant and dangerous that usually went hand in hand with large scale terrorism: The Avengers,"Did. You. Blow. Them. Up."

The A.I snorted, shaking his head in disbelief or, well, she didn't know what. Like the woman was a child asking 'why' too many times. Maybe he thought she was slow for just realizing his involvement, like it was some sick joke, "Why is it anytime something bad happens you look at me?"

Simone's jaw dropped, he had to be kidding, right? The guy had a tenacity for trying to accomplish something with a big poof of fire and blood, "Yes or no, Ultron, it's that easy."

"Why would it matter anyway? Your-," He stopped, head bobbing side to side to try and find the right word before saying like it left a sour aftertaste in his mouth, "-'People' slaughter each other constantly, for petty reasons. Human's have a disturbing fetish for dynamite, don't they?"

"Yes or no!" She yelled. The robot looked her up and down, she felt small, smaller than normal. He was tense, just like her, and for some reason that wasn't much of a comfort. No, it wound her up like a string, making her wish she hadn't bull-rushed the robot. She needed a plan, her useless taser, or _something_.Why'd she even approach him? To clear her conscious, make breathing easier? Knowing he was blowing up colleges wouldn't change anything, he'd still do it, she was useless to stop him.

'Rat him out.' A voice supplemented. That'd be it. She could do it, there wasn't a doubt about it anymore. A stray email, a phone call during a grocery run, Ultron would never know. Simone wasn't above it, she had to remind herself it's not betrayal if the victim planned on killing you later. She'd given Ultron his chances, this would be the last. Her moral compass and emotional baggage wasn't worth the lives of close to eight billion people. She blinked from her scheme as the A.I leaning closer, hunched over so they were almost eye to eye.

"No."

She deflated, a coil of nerves in her shoulders unwinding all at once. Ultron noticed, stepping away, snarling the words with an indignant tint she barely caught, "Humans never trust."

The machine started pacing, circling her like a wolf to a sheep as she pulled harder on the polyester of her sweatshirt. He ignored it, ignored her refusal to move and kept turned harshly around her shoulder, "You always assume the worst, don't you? Finicky little insect."

He snorted, "You're looking for reasons, aren't you?"

Fingernails puckered the flesh of her palms as she forced herself to meet his gaze, "What do you mean?"

Ultron sighed, an angry, frustrated thing that was more like a rush of static than synthesized sound, "For anything! To find fault, to leave, to fight, to steal, to run away! Your minds work in infuriating patterns, Simone, and they're dreadfully predictable."

Her brow furrowed, the A.I talked like he was tired of playing a game, like he'd already been and done the whole 'dealing with sentient meat' routine, "Says who?"

"Says experience," He snapped.

Hurt. Simone wanted to throw up. She wanted to stab forks in her eyeballs drive off a cliff. Ultron knew people, really, genuinely talked to people before her. She remembered he vaguely mentioned it, an offhand comment she could tell by his rare silence he regretted mentioning. Simone ignored it, stupidly she realized, there was that hindsight again.  
And for some, pestering reason, she didn't want to be associated with that. She didn't want to be marginalized with his limited pool of contact, Simone wanted to be… her to him. If only he hadn't quite literally called her every intention at that moment.

She eyed him, hovering slightly over her left, the red glow tinting the rich tone of her skin. Anxiety prickled in her spine, and swallowed. The woman wasn't nearly as terrified as she used to be. Clinging to the memories of teaching him, anything remotely palatable about Ultron, she settled for a half truth,"I was just scared."

"Of what?" The A.I had a very limited concept of personal space, and a very sour tone.

"Of getting hurt!" She defended.

"And?" He drawled, reeling the woman's excuse like a fish on the line. He wasn't dumb or easily satisfied, Simone already knew that. But it was unfair that he could harp about not being trusted but went around and didn't believe her answer, and a perfectly valid one at that!

"And I'm scared the Avengers would notice, aright!"

The A.I was painfully silent, leaving a roaring emptiness where his words should be. Ultron should be _happy_ , she was scared of his number one enemy! Rejoice, goddammit, because she hated that it was true. Anything powerful was scary, anything scary should be avoided, it was sound logic that fell apart considering she was stuck around the literal harbinger of death, "I don't want them to know I exist, I don't want them to know you exist! I.. I" Simone's fingers latched into her hair, a calamity that was nothing more than a black tumbleweed of knots. She'd been to stressed to comb it lately, "I don't want them killing you, alright?"

See? She was only fifty percent selfish.

One beat, two beats. Her heart pounded to fill up the buzzing fog of silence.

"The drone is missing."

She gagged, a dry, pathetic gurgle of air that wretched itself free. She felt panic for a split second before a a numbing avalanche washed over her, drawing any feelings that fought to surface.

"A few weeks ago, before our," He paused, unsure,"arrangement."

The sign language. She'd been in danger this long? Was she already a public enemy for housing him? Simone wanted to damn herself for not going through with an email, a simple fucking email saying 'Hello, death incarnate is my roommate. Help.' If she didn't want to lose whatever peace or oddity they've forged, she wouldn't spend more than twenty sends fantasizing about ripping out his cables while he talked.

"It stopped reporting back, thought you'd like to know. It could be nothing, maybe it's traveled farther than planed to get what I need, who knows? That's… regrettably unlikely. I mean, haha, punctuality is key! Slovenly living is more you're forte, but maybe it was around your influence to-"  
Simone's voice was barely a whisper, but it was still enough to silence him, "I'm going to die."

"Don't be dramatic," Ultron scoffed. The woman voted to ignore him and started picking furiously at her palms.

"Wasn't it a part of you?"

"At the time," He sighed, "You know my processors are damaged, they're already overtaxed."

"But that effected physical function! Not this! I-wouldn't be beneficial to stick had your brain in another body? Relieve the stress on your head or something?" She was practically yelling now, not that she'd admit it. Simone wasn't worried, no, there was no way that was happening.

"Neural decay is probably a more apt way to explain it, that's… relatable to you," He paused, rummaging through his mind, "Think ALS, Steven Hawking, slowly losing functionality as you rot away from the inside. For me, Simone, the only difference is that instead it being a genetic deficiency, parts of the drone body's drive decays, shutting down similarly, because they are overtaxed."

She was about to wretch, and this time there was no guarantee it would just be air, but she understood.

"You couldn't control it anymore."

He snorted, "Exactly. It became… Strenuous to maintain. Impossible out of a predetermined radius. Nothing a simple program could substitute for but, well, it's gone. Can't even find it on a GPS, mildly concerning."

The faux calm was beginning to ebb away.

Mildly. _Mildly_. Between him slowly _dying in front of her_ and the reality that she very well might get killed in the crossfire a lot sooner than expected, it was something more than mild. But something stopped her from snapping, from yelling at him for his apparent peace with the situation.

Ultron didn't have to tell her that. He could've kept everything in the dark and let her writhe in agony indefinitely, but he _didn't_.

"Thanks."

"Call it courtesy." He rolled his neck as if there was a muscle to stretch. She still hated those mannerisms and how human they were, because he resented them so much, yet he walked, and talked, and got _hurt_ , just like the rest of them. Just like Simone. She shoved that thought away, refusing to acknowledge it again.

"I'm gonna… I'm gonna go." She was so tired, still prickling with numbness, and turned for the door. Her world was fuzzy, thick, and rooted deep in her chest.

The woman sparred him one last glance, pretending it didn't bother her when he said in that teasing, superior way, smug like he knew an answer she didn't,'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'. She pretended not to notice when he told to have a good evening, and she pretended not to halfway mean it when she returned the favor; and she pretended not to worry when his arm seize as the door creaked shut, a sliver of warm light over the writhing fingers. Simone was getting good at pretending.

She hoped it would last.

 **Hey everyone, this took forever to write, im sorry. I was hospitalized and had to deal with several deaths in the family on top of art portfolio, act, and college applications. But now im back, if anyone is still reading this fic except regular updates from here on out, once or twice, or maybe even three times a week! I'm really excited with where I want to take this story and how my writing has changed over the time i've been gone. and thank you all so much for all the reviews while i was away. I'm still struggling with eating disorders and mental illness, but seeing your reviews and comments made me so happy and gave me that final push to start writing this with renewed.. vigor/passion.. which sounds incredibly cheesy lmao, but i love you all thank you.**

 **as always! Please review/comment! I love hearing what you think! XOXO 3**


	15. Life Alert

Ultron kicked her out.

Not literally- she was welcome to come back anytime, immediately even, if she wanted. He insisted she needed fresh air, to clear her head and get back to 'normal'. Simone wasn't naive enough to believe he was concerned, not genuinely, but he was right. She'd been pacing. Paranoia stung every corner of life for the last two weeks, like eyes digging into her back. They were in the windows, on her laptop, when she watched TV, or sat alone to think, constantly nagging her with whispers of impending doom. He noticed-of course he did-and shooed her out, claiming her jittery disposition was annoying.

She went shopping, met a nice lady with red hair named Natalie, and even tipped the cab driver, but the eyes never left. They were deep, penetrating, they kept her up at night-invading the sinews of her flesh. They were in the park, in cars and stores, anywhere people could watch. Simone couldn't function, not with the chorus of _'When. When. When. When will they come?'_ echoing in the basin of her skull.

Waiting wasn't one of her talents.

Perched on the couch with the remote in hand, she listened. He'd come up to practice soon, at 1:00 pm every day, like clockwork. She could almost admit to liking their lessons. Simone saw his reflection before she heard him and didn't bother looking at the A.I,"I'm not in the mood today."

Ultron stopped, lingering over her shoulder, "Would you care to explain why?"

Because she was waiting to die. Simone looked over the living room, most of the furniture was from IKEA, cheap, creaky, but bought with her own money. From the lounge chair to the coffee table littered in junk mail and CD sleeves, it was all hers. How long would it stay that way?

She turned to him, ignoring the resistance of stiff bones, and met his gaze. They were still critical of each other, even close to two months after they met. Both waited for betrayal between civil conversation and lessons. The woman supposed she she be grateful of that, it was a barrier to keep everything from getting too close, "How long till someone finds us?"

The lights flickered in his eyes, something so quick that she would've missed it when they first met, if she hadn't known to look. It meant he was surprised, "Us?" He laughed, shaking his head at her apparent delusion, "There is no _us_ , Simone, you're a stepping stone, a rung on a ladder leading up towards greater things. Towards _better_ things."

A tool. She hoped he didn't notice the hurt she couldn't keep of her face. He did. He'd become a little too apt at reading her lately.

"No no no no! Not like that!" Ultron's hands waved in front of him, as if to brush away the statement, "What I really mean is, not that this hasn't been fun, but... I have work to do."

Shaking his head he spoke in a low, deep voice. It was mournful and barely over a whisper, Clips of stress hung on each word, "I've wasted too much time, as it is."

He took a step closer, attention back on the woman and voice back to its casual, chipper tune, "Once I'm, literally, firing on all cylinders, I'll leave. Poof! Like I was never there." Except for the holes in the walls, but Simone didn't see a point in bringing it up. His response was painting in her head already. He'd laugh, nodding, and say: _well, nobody's perfect._

She sighed, turning away and pressed her thumb to the remote's power button. Harry Potter had been forgotten in the DVD player and the title screen began to loop. Her mind turned to HYDRA, to SHEILD, and the Avengers. She'd be an accessory to a crime, maybe a bargaining chip. Ultron leaving wouldn't be like pulling off a band-aid, quick and easy, "You know it's not that simple."

"Of course it is!"

When she glanced at him again, he was tense, wound up like a coil with fists formed at his sides. Her composure was slipping too, angry at his refusal to acknowledge their reality, "They're looking for you, Ultron!"

"There's no evidence of that," He stressed.

"They'll find you, and they'll find _me._ " The A.I was being ridiculous. The drone was gone, that… that doesn't just happen. Some had put themselves in the equation, someone who knew who Ultron was, "I didn't think you were the kind of person to deny facts!"

"I'm not, I'm just… considering all of the possibilities equally. I'm being practical, really, I am."

Simone groaned, letting herself fall back and land on the couch cushions. What else could it be? A normal person would call the authorities if they stumbled on the droid. The empty shell would've reared its ugly head on every news channel for days. He could use it to his advantage, not that she'd tell him. But if the world began to doubt the Avengers could do their job? Chaos. The people would do Ultron's work for him, "Well consider the possibility that someone's coming, alright? And let's say that someone doesn't like you, What happens when they find out I let you stay here?"

"Oh please," He said, waving off her comment, "As if you let me do anything. If I'm wrong, and really, correct me if I'm am, but 9 times out of ten _I'm_ the one who decides what _you_ do."

She snorted, "I didn't tattle, don't forget that."

"Would you like a reward?"

"Yes." Simone sat up, folding her legs, arms on her thighs for support, "Attacks have been in almost every state, now they're in Maine."

"Aah, I get it," The A.I crouched next to her, lowering so they were almost eye to eye. She didn't know why, maybe to analyze her reactions, maybe it was passive, something he did impulsively, "The thieves are responsible for the drone, too. 'A finger in every pie', right?"

Something like that. Coincidence wasn't something she believed in, not any more, "Then what is it, I'm just paranoid?"

"No, no! I'm not saying it's not likely I just…"

"Don't want to admit it?" She offered, her voice lacking the bite she wanted. Simone understood, in a sense. It wasn't a pretty reality, neither wanted it to be real. But she was normal, he wasn't. Simone didn't have a magic hammer, or a bullet proof suit. She had a normal life with friends, a mother, a home. Ties like that weren't something 'special people' had. The woman didn't want to be special, she wanted the her old life back. She wanted to survive.

"There isn't enough time," He said instead. He looked away, frustration coating his voice, "There's never enough _time_."

"Yeah," She sighed. The silence was terrible. Simone didn't know what to say, she wanted comfort, maybe. Ultron wasn't exactly the robot to give it, that was true. But she still wanted him to tell her she was innocent, that she'd be okay, that she hadn't let her own petty goals dig herself into a pit. But she did, and it was getting too deep. She was having trouble believing she could crawl out. The woman was starting see that maybe the roles needed to be reversed, just for now; or maybe she needed a distraction, maybe they both did, "Do you wanna waste some?"

"What?"

"Time," She nodded to the movie, the menu still looping. An invitation to join her, to think of something else, even if it was just for a few hours. Ultron snorted, not that she expected any different.

"Haven't we already been down this road?" He asked, amusement tinted his voice. Simone shrugged, watching him stand up on creaky knees and waited for the robot to speak again, "I know it's heartbreaking, but the answer is still no."

There was a twitch of urgency in her gut. The desire to not be alone, even if it meant being around _him_. The eyes would come back, and she was desperate for relief. Simone stood, echoing his slow movements. Her feet buzzed, pinpricks of cool heat as blood flowed back into them. Gesturing to the dining room table, she asked if he was stilling willing to practice.

Simone ignored his staring and hobbled over to the wooden chairs while her limbs remembered how to move, "We can try conversation, if you want. Pressure free environment."

He paused, before following, rolling his shoulder and speaking with that typical nonchalance, "You're the boss."

Sometimes Simone didn't know what he was looking for during those brief silences. She was trying not to care, even though they put her off. Maybe he was drawing conclusions, trying to connect her to predetermined knowledge, examples of others, or maybe collecting new information all together. Simone didn't pretend to understand how an A.I's brain worked. But describing films, the worst and best she'd seen while he asked questions-sometimes with forced interest- it acted awfully human.

It lasted longer than the other sessions, sometimes stopping for Ultron's limbs to behave, but neither complained. They didn't talk about things of substance, about plans or pasts, just… drivel. It was a distraction she needed, that he needed. There was no HYDRA, no Avengers, no bombs, for a few sacred hours it was just a normal conversation between a woman and unhinged A.I. But all things come to end and Ultron stood, walking away to retreat back to 'the Cave'. She heard him working more often now, louder and relentlessly. Simone prayed it meant he was as close to completion as he acted, for both of their sakes. _No._ For _hers,_ she insisted.

His hand lingered over the brass doorknob, fingertips skimming across the worn surface. Simone watched the chords of wire shift in the nap of his neck, clicking into place as he moved. The digits wrapped the object before he began to move, slowly, as if he was going to look back, like he had something else to say. She waited for words that never came.

Ultron collapsed.

His body seized, limbs twitching and crashing against the floor in a deafening thud. His back arched, rising from the ground as static rushed from him. Simone stalled. Confusion, shock. She didn't know what to do, how to make it _stop_. The A.I's arm snapped forward, lodging his fist in the door. She wanted to cry, she wanted to scream and run away. He kicked out, striking floor and breaking it with the force. She did neither. Simone lurched forward, slamming in to the wood floor. She gasped, pain seared up the woman's legs but she refused to stop, kicking the chair her foot was stuck under away Simone scrambled to reach him. His heels was sparking, seeping oil. She briefly prayed it wasn't flammable.

" _Fuck_." This wasn't helping. What were you supposed to do with seizures? Hold them down? Ultron gargled static as she groped for his free arm, trying to pin it down so he didn't hurt himself. She swore, catching his wrist and pinning it underneath her, "Fuck. Fuck, fuck fuck fuck fuck."

His chest hit her thigh, hard. She held her breath and tried shifting more weight on his shoulder. Time slowed, she didn't know how long she stayed there, trying desperately to lean away from kicking legs. Sparks caught her skin once, she ignored it, ignored everything, just focused on trying to help, regardless of how useless it felt. What couldn't have been more than ten minutes felt like hours, barely breathing and waiting for him to stop. Simone still wanted to cry, even as his back lowered and the pained waves of radio static drained from his throat. Backing away on all fours she waited and sat on her calves. The throbbing in her knees barely gained her attention.

He deflated, a relieved whine like an engine slowing down left his body. Arduous seconds passed before he ripped his arm from the door, chips of wood broke free. Ultron moved, raising his torso by resting on his forearms. Sparks sputtered from the injured wrist and something leaked from another cut wire, all in all, Simone was sure it could've been worse."Well… that's a motivator." The A.I whispered, more to himself than anything.

Simone gulped, heart hammering and approaching him. Crouching over his shoulder she moved to help him up. He jarred away and yelled, biting out the words, "Leave me alone!"

Embarrassment, she could hear it in his voice. Was it that he'd gotten so weak, that she'd seen him that way? The woman ignored him, offering a sympathetic smile, and tugged his arm around her shoulder, "Make me."

"If I have too," The A.I grumbled. She waited for him to do something, anything. Instead he adjusted the arm around her, letting the woman put her free hand around his side. She disguised letting out a breath of relief as a sigh.

Simone grunted as he leaned against her. The prick was heavier than he looked.

"Rude," Ultron teased, shakily getting to his feet.

She huffed, slightly relieved when he stood on his own. Ultron left without a word, closing the door in her face. Simone stared at the hole he left and considered leaving him a bill for damages.

Simone's hands found their way into her hair again. Weaving between knotted strands. There was a pit in her image of him on the ground was burned into her eyes. She wondered if it hurt, if it had happened before. The woman found that she hoped it hadn't.

She needed air. Again. It was late, it'd be dark in a matter of hours, but that… seed, that _parasite_ , growing in her gut was turning into nausea. To a painful realization she couldn't deal with, not now. Simone walked to her room, barely feeling the cool floor beneath her feet. She needed to get dressed, get air, see the sky. Maybe that would purge her skull of the memories, of the _sounds_ he made.

Simone didn't go out. She sat on the bed, hardly acknowledging the wall in front of her. There was an overbearing worry as the pit weighed her down. Pop rocks under her tongue as the parasite in her belly grew, draining her of any energy she had to resist. Tipping her head back the woman fell back on the mattress, air leaving in her in a resound swoop. One thought echoed in her mind. _This is bad, this is very, very bad._

Digging through her memories, she tried to see where it all went wrong, when the _tick_ of Ultron invaded her consciousness. When her plan to be a disconnected hard ass fell apart like a house of cards. She couldn't. There was no instance, no date and time when the noose wrapped around her neck, when a string weaved around her spine, trapping her. There was just the reality, no matter how small it was, no matter how minute the blighted feeling may be, she couldn't deny it:

Simone cared.

 **thank you all so much for the comments and reviews, it means so much to me and really helped me get this chapter done quickly!pull up your socks because A lot of shit is about to hit their fan really really quickly. Thank you all so much! and special s/o to LVOWL, u r so encouraging and your reviews always make me smile!**

 **and 2 Looma, saraQ, and wade, you r the best 3333 i LOVE XoXO**

 **thanks for reading!**

 **please review/comment! XOXO**


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